S B 

RsCT u. s. department of agriculture. 

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 210. 

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau. 




HmDI COTTON m EaYPT. 



0. F. COOK, 
Bionomist in Charge of Crop Acclimatization and Adaptation Investigations. 



Issued May 11, 1911. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1911. 




Glass Sa^^i 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 210. 

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau. 



HmDI COTTO^T m EdYPT. 

6^i 



O. F.'XOOK, 
Bionomist in Chnrye of Crop Acclimatization and Adaptation Investigations. 



Issued May 11, 1911. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 
19U. 



Co-iyU ^ 






9 



BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



Chief of Bureau, Beverly T. Galloway. 
Assistant Chief of Bureau, William A. Taylor. 
Editor, J. E. Rockwell. 
Chief Clerk, James E. Jones. 



Crop Acclimatizatio.n' a.nd Adaptation I.westiuations. 

scientific staff. 

O. F. Cook, Bionumist in Charge. 

0. N. Collins, Botanist. 
F. L. Lewton, Assistant Botanist. 
II. Pittier, Special Field Agent. 

A. T. Anders. J. II. Kinsler, Argyle MfLachlan, and D. X. Sauudor.s, Agents. 
C. B. Doyle and R. M. Meade, Assistants. 
210 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



u. s. derartment of agriculture, 

Bureau of Plant Industry, 

Office of the Chief, 

Washington^ D. C.^ Januanj 13^ 1911. 
Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled " Hindi 
Cotton in Egypt,'' by Mr. O. F. Cook, of this Bureau, and to recom- 
mend its publication as Bulletin No. 210 of the Bureau series. 

This paper reports the results of a visit to the cotton-growing 
districts of Egj^pt in June and July, 1910. It shows that the ad- 
mixture of inferior Hindi cotton is a serious burden upon the Egyp- 
tian industry and that our more intelligent farmers can secure an 
important advantage through the improved system of selection that 
has been developed by experiments in Arizona. A careful compari- 
son of the results of the Arizona experiments with the conditions 
actually' existing in Egypt became necessary in order to determine 
whether a satisfactory degree of uniformity has been attained in our 
acclimatized strains of Eg^^Dtian cotton. A previous study of the 
problem of diversity of the Egyptian cotton had been made in 
Arizona, as reported in Bulletins Nos. 147 and 15G of this series. 
Respectfully, 

Wm. a. Taylor, 
Acting Chief of Bureau, 
Hon. James Wilson, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

210 



CONTENTS, 



Page. 

Introduction 7 

Importance of uniformity in Egyptian cotton 9 

Lint and seed characters of Hindi cotton 11 

Distinctive characters of Hindi plants 14 

Habits of growth of Hindi cotton 14 

Leaf characters of Hindi cotton 15 

Floral characters of Hindi cotton 16 

Fruit characters of Hindi cotton 15 

Prevalence of Hindi cotton in Egypt 18 

Characters of Hindi hybrids 26 

Distinctive features of hybrids 26 

Coherence of characters in hybrids 28 

Intensification of characters in hybrids 33 

Relationships of Hindi and Egyptian cottons 36 

Supposed increase of Hindi cotton 41 

Estimate of damage from the Hindi contamination 43 

Other causes of deterioration of the Egyptian crop 45 

Prospects of Egyptian cotton in the United States 48 

Conclusions 51 

Description of plates 54 

Index 55 

210 

5 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 
Plate I. Fig. 1. — A field of Egyptian cotton intermixed with Hindi. Fig. 2. — 

An Egyptian cotton plant between two Hindi plants 54 

II. Fig. 1. — Small cotton field at Benha, Egypt. Fig. 2. — Large cotton 

field at Benha, Egypt, with natives irrigating 54 

III. Bracts and calyxes of Hindi cotton from Mesopotamia and from 

Fayum, Egypt 54 

IV. Bracts and calyxes of Egyptian cotton and of a Hindi hybrid 

V. Bracts and calyxes of Hindi-like Upland cotton from Cochin China 54 

and of a relative of the Egyptian cotton from central Africa 

VI. Bolls of Egyptian and of Hindi cotton 54 

210 
G 



B. P. I.— 643. 



HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT 



INTRODUCTION. 

Inspection of many cotton fields in different parts of Egypt shows 
that the so-called Hindi cotton is a general contamination of the 
Egyptian stock, responsible for a large amount of diversity and de- 
generation. Expression of inferior Hindi characters renders many 
of the plants not onl}^ worthless from the standpoint of production, 
but dangerous to future crops. The establishment of a profitable 
culture of Egyptian cotton in Arizona and southern California de- 
pends largeh^ on the exclusion of the Hindi contamin,ation." 

The Hindi cotton complicates the problem of acclimatizing and 
adapting the Egyptian cotton to the cultural conditions found in the 
United States. In this case a problem of heredity had to be studied. 
Instead of the physical factors alone, it has been necessary to analyze 
the characters of the plants in order to determine the causes of im- 
purity and find means of elimination. 

''"Hindi is tlie nnnie applied in Egypt to an nndesirable type of cotton wltli 
a short, wealv fiber, that in.iures the high-grade Egy])tian varieties by infesting 
them with hybrids. The skill and cheapness of the native Egyptian labor enable 
the exporters to have the cotton sorted by hand in their baling establishments, 
so that a high reputation for uniformity has been secured in spite of the Hindi 
admixture. • 

" The introduction of the Egyptian cotton into the United States brings also 
the problem of the Hindi cotton, but without the resource of cheap labor wiiich 
enables the difficulty to be surmounted in Egypt. The practicability of estab- 
lishing a commercial culture of the Egyptian cotton in the United States de- 
pends largely upon the elimination t)f the Hindi contamination and other forms 
of diversity, so that the fiber may be produced in a satisfactory condition of 
uniformity. The Hindi cotton problem might be compared to that of the red 
rice that mixes with the white and depreciates the value of the crop. In the 
case of the cotton, there is a better prospect that adequate knowledge of the 
vegetative characters may enable the undesirable plants to be removed from 
the fields without too seriously increasing the cost of production." ( See Circu- 
lar 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, entitled " Origin 
of the Hindi Cotton," 1909, p. 3. This circular contains the results of a previ- 
ous study of the Hindi cotton made in connection with experiments in Arizona. 
It will be sent free on application to the Secretary of Agriculture.) 

210 

7 



8 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

During the first j^ears of its cultivation in Arizona the Eg;\-ptian 
cotton produced onl}' small yields and rather inferior fiber. After the 
yield and quality began to improve, an undesirable amount of diver- 
sity appeared. A study of this diversity showed that it was due in 
part to hybridization with the common American Upland cotton, and 
that this danger was unusually serious in Arizona when the two kinds 
of cotton are grown in the same locality, owing to an unusual abun- 
dance of wild bees. The Hindi cotton is an additional factor of 
diversity inherent in the imported Egyptian stock, more difficult to 
understand because not previously knoAvn in the United States. 

Experiments show that both of these sources of diversity can be 
eliminated by a more careful system of field selection, applied early in 
the season before the inferior plants have begun to flower, and hence 
before they have cross-fertilized the neighboring plants. The value 
of the Arizona Egyptian cotton and the prospects of cultivating this 
crop on a commercial scale in the United States depend largely on 
the degree of uniformity that can be attained in the fiber, in com- 
parison with that of the Egyptian product. Hence, the necessity for 
an inspection of the cotton fields of Egypt in order to determine 
the extent of diversity in the crop as raised in that country. 

The high cost of labor in the Southwestern States forbids any 
direct imitation of Egyptian methods, either in raising the crop or 
in preparing it for market. Other solutions of the problems of 
production have to be sought. The requirement of uniformity has 
been met in Eg3qot by a system of careful grading of the cotton 
after picking that would be very difficult to establish in the United 
States, and too expensive to leave any assurance of profit for the 
farmer even if it were established. 

The Eg}'ptian cotton trade is organized on an entirely different 
basis from the American. Instead of merely ginning and baling the 
farmer's cotton as he brings it from the fields, it is the regular practice 
of the Egyptian ginning establishments to buy the seed cotton from 
the farmer and prepare it for the market by sorting, grading, and 
blending. Instead of depending entirely on samples, as with Ameri- 
can cotton, Egyptian cotton is sold largely by the marks or brands 
that are placed on the bales by the ginning establishments. Cotton 
of the same mark is supposed to represent a definite uniform quality. 
This is much more practicable in Egypt than it would be in most 
parts of the United States because of the much greater uniformity of 
climate and soil in Egyj^t. 

In comparison with the wide range of soils, climates, and seasonal 
vicissitudes in the cotton-producing districts of the United States, 
the Egyptian cotton industry gives at first an impression of com- 
plete uniformity. Although people in Eg}^pt supposed that cotton 
would be more advanced in Upper Egypt than about Cairo, this did 
:2io 



IMPORTANCE OF UNIFORMITY IN EGYPTIAN COTTON. 9 

not prove to be the case. It is quite possible that the crop of Upper 
Egypt comes to maturity earlier in the fall, owing to hotter weather 
in the summer, but there was very little difference at the middle of 
June. The effect that would naturally be expected from higher day 
temperatures in Upper Egypt may be neutralized in the early part 
of the season by cooler nights, due to the greater radiation allowed 
by the drier air. In any event the cotton was found at nearly the 
same stage of development about Beni-Suef as about Cairo and 
Tanta. (See PI. I, fig. 1.) Even at the middle of July much of the 
cotton in Upper Eg3q3t, between Beni-Suef and Minieh, was still 
quite small, having scarcely reached the flowering stage. In some 
fields the plants were only G or 8 inches high. The same was true 
of many fields in Lower Egj'pt in the region of Mansurah. (See 
PI. II, figs. 1 and 2.) To what extent the later planting was respon- 
sible for the more backward state of the cotton in these districts was 
not learned, nor the reasons that may exist for later planting. 

The most important local differences perceptible in Egypt were not 
those of the external conditions or of the methods of cultivation. 
The superiority of the cotton raised in the Delta region may be due 
in part to superior conditions, as generally assumed, but better knowl- 
edge of the Hindi cotton among the native cultivators is another 
factor of great importance, since it determines whether the inferior 
Hindi cotton shall be rogued out or left to mature in the fields. 
Many native cultivators at Beni-Suef pay no attention to the Hindi 
cotton, while about Mansurah it seems to be known to everybody. 
But even about Mansurah the human factor is by no means uni- 
form, as shown by widely varj'ing proportions of Hindi cotton in the 
different fields. 

IMPORTANCE OF TJNIFOIIMITY IN EGYPTIAN COTTON. 

The requirement of uniformity increases with the presence of other 
good qualities of cotton. A long, strong cotton commands higher 
prices, because it can be spun into stronger or finer thread and used 
to make stronger or finer fabrics. An admixture of short, weak 
fibers not only reduces the strength of the threads and impairs the 
quality or durability of the fabric ; it interferes also with the work of 
the spinning and weaving machinery by the more frequent breaking 
of the threads. 

The superiority of the Sea Island cotton does not consist alone in 
its length and strength, but in its extreme uniformity. This is main- 
tained by a highly developed system of selection, w^ell recognized 
among the Sea Island planters but not yet applied to any other 
commercial type of cotton. The seed for each season's crop is raised 
by itself, apart from the general planting, and traces its ancestry 

210 



10 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

back to a single superior individual of two or three generations 
before.** 

In the Egyptian system of cotton culture no attempt seems to be 
made to imitate the methods of the Sea Island planters. Even less 
consideration is given to selection than in the Upland-cotton industry 
of the United States. While very few planters of Upland cotton have 
been accustomed to select their own seed, it has at least been possible 
for them to buy seed of selected stocks of many of the Upland 
varieties, wb.ereas planters in Egypt do not appear to have nny 
recognized source of supply from which to secure luiiform stocks of 
seed of the Egyptian varieties free from the Hindi contamination. 
Differences between the seeds of the Hindi and the Egyptian cotton 
enable a selection to be nuide. even after ginning, but it seems evident 
from the condition of the fields in Egypt that a considerable quantity 
of Hindi seed nnist be planted and that many Hindi plants are 
allowed to grow to maturity and so to maintain the contamination.'' 

The advantage that the individual planter might gain by a careful 
and persistent selection of his own seed is difficult to realize under 
the Egyptian system of selling the seed cotton to the ginner. There 
is also a custom of exchanging seed between different villages on the 
theory that better yields can be obtained in this way. Thus growers 
of Mit Afifi cotton near Mansurah obtain their seed from Kefir Zeyat, 
between Tanta and Alexandria, a place that is commonly supposed 
to produce seed of a superior quality. Such exchanges of seed are 

''Webber, H. J. Iniprovenient of Cotton by Seed Selection. Ye.'irbook of the 
Department of Agricultnre for 1902, p. 374. 

^ " The seed reserved for sowing is passed through special riddles, which re- 
move small and dead seed ; purity can not be obtained by this means, but merely 
a better looking sample ; that is to say, as far as general appearance is con- 
cerned, the sample may be excellent, but closer examination reveals the pres- 
ence of seed not true to variety. Small cultivators do not, as a rule, trouble 
even to secure the best seed which is procurable, but content themselves with 
the employment of that resulting from the ginning of common qualities of all 
pickings, regardless of origin and purity. Were this seed purchased at a 
low price it would provide no excuse for such a short-sighted policy, but even 
this is not the case, the price paid to the village merchant being, as a rule, 
considerably higher than that for which the better qualities could be obtained. 

" In order to overcome this difficulty, the Khedivial Agricultural Society, in 
conjunction with the Agricultural Bank, distributes annually to small culti- 
vators the best seed obtainable at cost price, the value of which is collected at 
the end of the following cotton season. 

" It must be remarked, however, that the seed so distributed is merely the 
best that can be procured. 

" That it is vastly superior to that which in the absence of such a system 
of distributing would be employed is without doubt. At the same time this 
system does nothing to actually improve the seed." (See Foaden, G. P., "The 
Selection of Seed Cotton," Yearbook of the Khedivial Agricultural Society, 
190.5, p. 122.) 
210 



LINT AND SEED CHARACTEES OF HINDI COTTON. 11 

well calculated to preserve and distribute the Hindi contamination. 
Even the introduction of new, carefully selected varieties could be 
expected to give only temporary improvement unless the whole sys- 
tem were changed. The process of deterioration would be resumed 
at once as a result of the crossing between adjacent fields of different 
varieties and the exchange of seed between different localities. 

After selection is relaxed the rapidity of deterioration of a vari- 
ety of cotton depends on two cooperating factors, variation and cross- 
ing. Both of these factors must vary in different places, for they 
are influenced by external conditions. When cotton is grown under 
new or unfavorable conditions, more numerous variations appear. 
Abundance of bees or other cross-fertilizing insects causes a more 
rapid spreading of variations through the stock. Relatively uni- 
form conditions and apparent scarcity of insects may give longer 
life to varieties in Egypt than in the United States, but the general 
tendencies and results of deterioration seem to be quite the same." 

The history of cotton culture in Egypt shows that a succession of 
new varieties has replaced the old at intervals of a few decades. 
The modern Egyptian cotton industry began with the variety dis- 
covered and popularized by Jumel, a French engineer, about 1820. 
The Jumel cotton was replaced by the Ashmuni after 18G0, the Ash- 
muni by the Mit Afifi about 1890, and more recent varieties, such as 
the Jannovitch and Nubari, are now replacing the Mit Afifi. Other 
varieties, such as the Bamieh, Gallini, Zafiri, Abbasi, Sultani, etc., 
have either failed to gain any general poj)ularity or have aroused 
only temporary interest. 

LINT AND SEED CHARACTERS OF HINDI COTTON. 

The character that renders the Hindi cotton so unwelcome as an 
element of admixture in the Egyptian stock is the much shorter and 
coarser fiber. The Hindi fiber is also pure white in color, whereas 
in the more popular Egyptian varieties the lint is a somewhat 
creamy white, tinged with buff or brown. White-linted varieties of 
Egyptian cotton have been cultivated to a small extent, but have 
never become popular in Egypt. 

The difference in the color of the lint is of much assistance in the 
work of sorting out the Hindi admixture after the fiber has been 
picked and brought to the ginning establishment. Any thorough 
separation of the inferior Hindi fiber from a white variety must be 

"Though very few insects were noticed in the Egyptian fielcls in June and 
July, they may be more abundant later in the season. Ralls reports between 
5 and 10 per cent of crossing, and even 25 per cent in one of his exi>eriments. 
(See Balls, W. L., "Cross-Fertilization in Cotton," Cairo Scientific Journal, vol. 
2, 1908, p. 405.) 
210 



12 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

much more difficult, if not entirely impracticable. From this point 
of view it is easy to understand why the culture of Sea Island cotton 
or of the superior white varieties of Egyptian, such as Abbasi, has 
not become more extensi^'e. 

The superiority claimed for the lint of the white varieties, such as 
Abbasi, is in accordance with other indications of a general correla- 
tion between the color and the length of the lint. Study of the lint 
characters of many variations and hybrids seems to indicate a general 
tendency in brown fibers to be shorter and coarser than white fibers. 
Thus the Jannovitch variety has lint longer and whiter than the Mit 
Afifi, though still with a very slight tinge of brown. The Abbasi lint 
is still longer, but is pure white in color.'' 

If the need of sorting the fiber were removed by more effective 
methods of eliminating the Hindi variations, the way would be open 
to a larger use of white-linted varieties. Though brownish lint is 
preferred for a few purposes, the color seems to be valuable chiefly 
for the aid it gives in sorting out the inferior fiber that results from 
the Hindi contamination. If American growers are sufficiently care- 
ful to keep out the Hindi contamination, they may be able to gi"ow 
white varieties that have longer and stronger fibers than the brown- 
linted varieties now popular in Egypt. 

In addition to the long fibers that compose the lint, the seeds of 
typical Egyptian plants are always provided with short fibers, or 
" fuzz," that continue to adhere to the seed after the lint has been 
removed by ginning. The fuzz may be confined to small tufts at the 
ends of the seed or may extend down one side, or may be more widely 
spread over the surface. The seeds of the typical Hindi cotton, on 
the other hand, are entirely without fuzz. The black surface is left 
entirely naked after the lint has been removed. The absence of fuzz 
makes the small, sharp-pointed, black stalk or funiculus at the base 
of the seed much more conspicuous in the Hindi cotton, though it is 
present in other varieties. 

The seeds of the Hindi cotton are more angular in shape than those 
of the Egyptian cotton. Though not adhering like the seeds of kid- 
ney cotton, they seem to be more closely crowded together in the boll 
than the seeds of the Egyptian cotton, and this mutual pressure tends 

"The production of Abbasi cotton is said to be irregular because tlie price 
fluctuates with Sea Island cotton. When Sea Island cotton is cheap there is 
small demand for the Abbasi. Another variety that gave very promising results 
in an experiment in Arizona in 1909, the Nubari, is said to be not very highly 
appreciated in Egypt because of a tendency to produce small bolls. While 
many small-boiled plants were found in the Nubari field in Arizona, there was 
less diversity in this and other respects than in any other lot of plants grown 
from imported seed. 
210 



LINT AND SEED CHAEACTEES OF HINDI COTTON. 13 

to make the Hindi seeds longer and more angular. Fully developed 
Egyptian seeds are usually plum]:*, with all the sides distinctly con- 
vex and with a larger diameter than the Hindi seeds. 

The smooth surface and narrower shape of Hindi seeds make it 
possible to separate most of them b}' sifting, as the Egyptian ginning 
establishments are said to do. Nevertheless, it is not to be expected 
that any complete elimination of the Hindi cotton can be accom- 
plished in this way, for Hindi plants are occasionally found with 
fuzzy seeds much like the seeds of American Upland cotton. The 
seeds of Hindi hybrids are also somewhat fuzzy, often in the same 
Avay as the Egyptian seeds. 

Hand selection of seed intended for planting is said to be done in 
Egypt, though it does not seem to be a regular practice. Experi- ' 
ments carried on by Mr. Argyle INIcLachlan in Arizona indicate that 
Hindi variations and other aberrant tendencies can usually be de- 
tected if the seeds are studied with sufficient care and discrimination. 

The sorting out of the Hindi cotton is also assisted by the fact that 
the Hindi lint is very lightly attached, allowing the black surfaces 
of the seeds to be very readily seen. Even before the cotton is picked 
from the plants this diift'erence is often very apparent. 

In addition to being short and coarse, the fibers of the Hindi cot- 
ton are relatively straight and have very little tendency to cling 
together, like the longer and more abundant fibers of Egyptian and 
I'pland varieties. After the Hindi bolls are open the seeds soon 
begin to separate and fall out, especially if they have a little assistance 
from wind or rain. In other words, the Hindi cotton is conspicu- 
ously lacking in storm-proof qualities. 

The naked surfaces of the Hindi seeds may be responsible for the 
fact that young plants of the Hindi cotton often appear to make more 
rapid growth than adjacent Egyptian plants. Experiments have 
shown that the germination of fuzzy-seeded varieties may be seriously 
delayed in dry weather, while seeds without fuzz may germinate 
promptly in the same soil. Obviously, too, a Hindi seedling that 
had genninated promptly and had sent out roots to absorb water 
would retard the germination of other seeds in the same hill. The 
cotton is planted in Egypt in relatively dry soil, the young plants 
being easily destroyed by any excess of Avater. Under such condi- 
tions there is usually a very unequal development of the young plants. 
Two or three plants in each hill, or perhaps only a single one, may 
develop several leaves and attain a height of 8 or 10 inches, while the 
other seedlings of the same hill remain with only the cotyledons 
expanded. 

210 



14 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF HINDI PLANTS. 
HABITS OF GROWTH OF HINDI COTTON. 

If the Hindi cotton could be recognized only by the characters of 
the lint and seeds, it might be impossible to effect a complete elimina- 
tion of the Hindi characters by selection. As long as Hindi plants 
are allowed to flower in the fields with the Egyptian plants and cross- 
fertilize them the undesirable Hindi characteristics may be expected 
to reappear. Even if no seeds of the Hindi form are planted, some 
of the apparentlj^ normal Egyptian seeds are likely to contain Hindi 
hj^brid embiyos, and these in turn can grow to maturity and produce 
pollen for continuing the Hindi infection to further generations. It 
is fortunate, therefore, that the Hindi cotton has several very definite 
differences in the vegetative parts, so that all Hindi plants can be 
recognized and rogued out of a field or a seed plat before the age of 
blooming and cross-fertilization is reached. 

The general form or habit of growth of the Hindi plants is different 
from that of the Egyptian cotton, though this is not so apparent in 
the Egyptian fields, where the plants are crowded closely together, as 
in experimental plantings, where more space is allowed the individual 
13lants. The tendency of the Hindi cotton is to produce a broader 
and more bushy plant, more like the Upland than the Egyptian 
cotton. (See PI. I, fig. 2.) 

There is a general impression that the Hindi cotton is larger and 
more luxuriant than the Egyptian, but this may relate to the Hindi 
hybrids rather than to the genuine Hindi individuals. The Hindi 
plants may appear larger early in the season, perhaps as a result of 
more prompt germination, but they are usually outgrown by the 
neighboring Egyptian plants by the time the fruiting stage is reached. 

The Egjq^tian cotton, as w^ell as the Hindi, shows different habits 
of growth under different conditions. In the cooler climate of Lower 
Egypt there is no such luxuriance of vegetative growth as in Arizona, 
but the branches are more spreading and the foliage more open. The 
habit of the Egyptian cotton in Egypt is more like that of Upland 
cotton in our Southern States. The similarity was especially strong 
in the Fayum Oasis, where some of the cotton is planted on rather 
poor land. It flowers and fruits when only 8 or 10 inches high, ma- 
turing small, bushy plants, like Upland cotton on poor soil in the 
South. Something of the exuberant tendency was shown in an ex- 
perimental planting of Egyptian cotton at Siut (Assiut), in Upper 
Egypt. 

The habits of branching of the Hindi cotton are also different from 
those of the Egyptian. The fertile branches are less definitely spe- 
cialized than in the Egyptian cotton and have a stronger tendency 

210 



DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF HINDI PLANTS. 15 

to grow in upright or oblique positions and to assume the functions 
of vegetative branches, the flower buds being often aborted." 

LEAF CHARACTERS OF HINDI COTTON. 

The leaves of the Hindi cotton are characterized by thinner texture 
and lighter color, a fresh, bright green that forms quite a definite 
contrast with the duller grayish or bluish green of the Egyptian 
leaves. The surfaces of the leaves of the Egyptian cotton are some- 
what duller and more hairy in Egypt than in Arizona, though not 
so grajdsh as when the Egjqotian cotton is grown in the cool climate 
of the Pacific coast, near Los Angeles. The color is usually darker 
before the fruiting stage of the Egyptian cotton is reached, when 
the foliage usually takes on a lighter and more yellowish tone. The 
dark foliage of the vegetative phase may be retained under condi- 
tions of abnormal luxuriance, or the change to the yellower shade 
of green may occur prematurely if the plants are affected by some 
unfavorable condition, such as too much water or too little. 

The veins of the leaves of the Hindi cotton are usually reddish, 
and the red color becoities very pronounced at the pulvinus or 
cushion-like thickening at the bases of the veins, where they pass into 
the petiole or stem of the leaf. The two large veins on each side of 
the midrib are particularly likely to be grown together at the base, 
giving the pulvinus of the Hindi cotton an oblong shape, The'leaves 
of the Egyptian cotton do not have an enlarged pulvinus, the veins 
passing more directly into the petiole without becoming much swol- 
len or united at the base. The surface of the pulvinus of the Hindi 
cotton is naked, or with only a few scattering hairs, while the cor- 
responding part of the P2gyptian cotton is usually quite hairy. 

The lack of specialization of the bases of the veins in the Egyptian 
cotton seems to render the leaves less capable of movement. They do 
not appear to change their positions to face the sun in the morning 
and afternoon as much as the leaves of the Hindi cotton. The turn- 
ing of the leaves to the sun renders the Hindi plants more conspicu- 
ous in the morning and afternoon than in the middle of the day, 
when the leaves have a horizontal position. Advantage was taken 
of this fact in making inspections of fields from moving trains, as 
will be explained later. 

Even in the first leaves or cotyledons of the young seedlings the 
reddening of the veins and the basal spot enables the Hindi cotton 
to be recognized and separated from the Egyptian. The difference 
of coloration is not so obvious in the first few leaves that appear 
after the cotyledons, for even in the Egyptian cotton these are likely 

'^Dimorphic Branches in Tropical Crop Plants. Bulletin 198, B,urean of Plant 
Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1910. 
77267°— Bui. 210—11 2 



16 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

to have a somewhat reddish spot at the base, especially if the condi- 
tions are not favorable for rapid growth. The differences become 
more obvious as the plants grow, until the flowering stage is reached, 
but they may lessen or disappear at maturity. In adult Egyptian 
plants the veins of the leaves often become reddish, while those of 
adult Hindi plants may become pale." 

After the color contrasts have disappeared, the recognition of the 
Hindi plants requires notice of other less obvious details of the leaves, 
flowers, and bolls. Thus the leaves of the Hindi cotton have the 
lobes broader, more abruptly narrowed toward the apex, and usually 
produced into longer terminal points. In Hindi hj^bricls there are 
often 5 to 7 lobes which are often somewhat folded or plicate, as in 
the Eg3q)tian cotton, the true Hindi plants having the leaves nearly 
flat. The rounded basal lobes of the leaf are broader in the Hindi 
cotton, so that the leaf as a whole is more nearly square or oblong in 
shape. The corresponding margins of the Egyptian leaves are likely 
to converge or slope backward toward the stem.^ 

The sinus or notch at the base of the leaf, where the petiole is 
inserted, is usually much broader in the Hindi cotton, exposing the 
upper surface of the end of the petiole. In the Egyptian leaves the 
sinus is generally very narrow or completely closed by the contact 
or overlapping of the margins of the lobes. The wider separation of 
the lobes of the Hindi cotton may be considered as a consequence of 
the thickening of the veins and the enlargement of the end of the 
petiole 

FLORAL CHARACTERS OF HINDI COTTON. 

The involucre that incloses the bud of the cotton plant is composed 
of three bracts, small leaf -like organs, each margined with a fringe 
of narrow teeth. The bracts of the Hindi cotton are more broadly 
rounded at the base and have longer and more numerous teeth than 
those of the Egyptian cotton. Comparison of the Hindi bracts 
shown in Plate III with the Egyptian bracts at the top of Plate IV 
will enable these differences to be understood. Another diagnostic 
feature of the Hindi bracts is that the teeth run down nearer to the 
base, a tendency that is shared by the Hindi hj^brids. Three hybrid 
bracts are shown at the bottom of Plate IV. The bracts of the 
Egyptian cotton seemed to be somewhat more cordate in Egypt than 
in the United States, but the narrowly triangular form, straight 
sides, and small teeth, remote from the base, generallj^ render them 

® Mutative Reversions in Cotton, Circular No. 53, Bureau of Plant Industry. 
U„ S. Dept. of Agriculture, March, 1910, pp. 10-11. 

* For natural-size illustrations of leaves of Egyptian and Hindi cotton, see 
Circular No. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, December, 1909, pp. 4 and 5. 
210 



DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF HINDI PLANTS. 17 

quite different from the Hindi bracts, in spite of endless variations 
in the minor details. 

The calyx of the Hindi cotton has five distinctly prominent 
triangular lobes, one or two of which are often produced into a 
narrow needle-like point. In the Egyptian cotton the lobes of the 
calyx are very short and broadly rounded, never produced into long 
points. Three examples of the toothed calyx of the Hindi cotton 
are shown in Plate III; an Egyptian calyx and the calyx of a hybrid 
in Plate IV. 

The fresh, newly opened flowers of the Hindi cotton have pale 
creamy-white petals like tliose of Upland cotton instead of lemon- 
yelloAv petals like Egyptian cotton. In the afternoon the flowers 
of both sorts change to a reddish pink, but the Hindi flowers attain 
a much deeper shade than the Eg3qDtian. 

The petals of the Hindi cotton are shorter than those of the 
Eg}q3tian and open more widely. The Hindi flower may be de- 
scribed as cup-shaped, the Egyptian as tubular. 

The purple sj^ot found at the base of each petal in Egyptian 
flowers is lacking or only faintl}' indicated in typical Hindi flow^ers, 
though often quite pronounced in Hindi h3'brids. 

The pollen of the Hindi cotton is of a much paler yellow and the 
individual pollen grains are much smaller than those of the Egyptian 
cotton. 

FRUIT CHARACTERS OF HINDI COTTON. 

The bolls of the Hindi cotton have a rounded conic shape, broadest 
near the base, and taper abruptly to a short point. Egyptian bolls 
are more fusiform, narrow^er at the base than near the middle, and 
taper less abruptly to a rather blunt apex. The shape differs appre- 
ciably with the conditions, the less luxuriant plants in Egypt having 
a broader and more conic form than is usual in Arizona, more like 
the bolls produced by the Egyptian cotton in the vicinity of Los 
Angeles. (See PI. VL) 

The surface of the Hindi bolls has a rather dull pale pea-green 
color, with only slight indications of the deeply buried oil glands. 
Egyptian bolls, on the contrary-, have a fresher, darker color, with 
the surface smooth and shining, but rather deeply pitted around the 
numerous superficial oil glands, each of which appears as a distinct 
black dot. These differences appear somewhat less jDronounced in 
Egypt than in Arizona. Pale-green bolls were found on many 
plants that seemed in all other respects to represent true Egyptian 
cotton. The darker color of the bolls in Arizona may be connected 
with the greater luxuriance of the plants. 

The number of carpels, or " locks,'' varies in the Hindi cotton from 
3 to 5, the majority of bolls having 4 locks. In the Egyptian cotton 

210 



18 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

the locks range from 2 to 4, with 3 as the prevailing number. Very 
few 4-locked bolls could be found in the Egyptian fields, but they are 
somewhat more numerous on the larger and more luxuriant plants 
grown in Arizona. 

PREVALENCE OF HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

Familiarity witli tlic vegetative characters of the Hindi cotton made 
it possible to secure definite information regarding the prevalence 
of this tj'pe of cotton in Egypt and thus obtain a basis of judgment 
regarding the value of the methods of selection that are being ap- 
plied to the Eg}^ptian cotton in Arizona. In attempting to judge 
of the practicability of establishing the culture of Egyptian cotton 
in the Southwest, it is obviously important to understand how far 
the commercial reputation of the Egyptian cotton for uniformity 
depends on the special methods of sorting and j^reparing the cotton 
for market. This will enable us to appreciate the advantage that 
may be gained by growing a more uniform fiber in the fields and 
avoiding the necessity of the subsequent labor in sorting and blend- 
ing the fiber into a uniform product after it comes to the ginhouse. 

Some writers have given the impression that the native cultivators 
rogue out all the Hindi plants during the process of thinning the 
young cotton early in the spring and thus avoid an admixture of the 
Hindi fiber. Others have referred to the Hindi cotton as a wild 
plant in Egypt, or even a conmion w^eed, making it seem almost 
impossible to avoid contamination. 

Neither of these impressions seems to correspond with the facts. 
Though many of the native cultivators will hasten to assure the 
inquirer that they pull out all of the Hindi plants, a goodly rem- 
]iant of typical Hindi individuals is to be found in nearly ever}^ 
field. On the other hand, one does not find the Hindi cotton, any 
more than the Egyptian cotton, outside of regularh' planted cotton 
fields. Seeds scattered near permanent watercourses or about towns 
may sometimes grow to maturity, but it is not easy to understand 
how the idea of wild cotton growing at large in Egjq^t could have 
gained currency. Other plants that casual observers might mistake 
for cotton, such as the okra or bamieh (Hihiscus esculentus), the 
Deccan hemp (Hihiscus cannahinus), or even the cocklebur (Xan- 
thium), are all strictly dependent upon cultivation and irrigation. 
It is difficult to believe that a plant of the habits of the cotton could 
exist as a native or truly wild species in the Xile Valley. And if 
such* a species did exist naturally it would be dependent upon the 
annual flood for its water, and would be a winter-growing species. 
The commercial culture of cotton was not developed in Egypt under 
the historical system of basin irrigation direct from the annual flood 

210 



PREVALENCE OP HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 10 

of the Nile. The period of high water comes during the late summer 
and autumn, the fruiting season of the cotton. Eg.ypt did not gain 
imi^ortance as a cotton-producing country until the modern system 
of perennial irrigation from stored water was developed, in the 
nineteenth century. 

The Egyptian system of close planting greatly increases the diffi- 
culties of finding the Hindi individuals and of counting the Hindi 
and Eg}'ptian plants to determine the percentages of each. Early 
in the season, while the plants are still small, each one can readily 
be seen as a separate individual, but with larger gi^owth they fuse 
together, as it were, to form a solid mass of foliage. Early inspection 
has the further advantage of utilizing the differences in the color 
of the foliage that are readily appreciable in the vegetative phase of 
development, but tend to disappear after the fruiting stage has been 
reached, as already explained. 

If actual countings are not made, the proportion of Hindi cotton 
is likely to be seriously underestimated after the plants have reached 
the adult or flowering stage. It has been said that the Hindi plants 
can be distinguished from the Egyptian by their taller growth, but 
this seems to be true of hybrids or of young individuals rather than 
of mature plants of the true Hindi type. It was noticed at Calioub 
and at several other points that while many of the hybrid plants ran 
several inches above their Egyptian neighbors, the true Hindi plants 
had usually been outgrown by the Eg\"ptian. In fact, some of the 
Egyptian cultivators consider that the hybrids rather than the true 
Hindi plants ought to be pulled out. They have noticed that many 
of the large overgrown hybrids produce very little fruit and are 
willing to pull them out so they shall not crowd their more productive 
neighbors. Careful roguing in the early part of the season is more 
likely to take out all of the true Hindi plants and leave a few of 
the hyl)rids. so that careful cultivators are more likely to be familiar 
with mature hybrids than with mature Hindi individuals. 

The true Hindi plants, being less obtrusive when the stage of 
maturity is reached, are very easily overlooked unless special care 
is taken to separate and count the plants of each hill. Though two 
plants are usually left at thinning, regularity in this respect can 
not be depended upon. It often happens that only one plant sur- 
vives, or careless cultivators may leave occasional hills with three or 
four plants. 

It may be that the value of countings as the basis of general esti- 
mates of the proportion of Hindi cotton would not be seriously 
impaired by assuming two plants to each hill. The saving of time 
in this way would enable more extensive counts to be made. This 
plan was followed in a few of the later countings mentioned below, 

210 



20 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

at Calioub and Siut, in fields wliere tlie plants had grown very 
large. The hills were each noticed in turn to see whether they con- 
tained Hindi plants. Hills wath no Hindi were assumed to have two 
Egyptian plants. The general effect of this plan would be to reduce 
somewdiat the apparent proportion of Hindi plants, since it is prob- 
able that in most of the fields there would be more hills wath a single 
plant than with three or four plants. Xevertheless, it might be that 
the figures obtained in this w ay would be more reliable, in view of the 
larger areas that might be inspected in a limited time. 

To serve as a general basis of judgment regarding the prevalence 
of the Hindi cotton in Egypt, countings of individual plants were 
made in several different localities. In most localities several sepa- 
rate counts were made, usually in fields of different proprietors, or 
at least of different tenant cultivators. The figures obtained do not 
represent the full extent of Hindi contamination of the stock, for in 
most cases a more or less careful roguing out of the Hindi plants 
had already taken place. The psychological factor of the individual 
cultivator enters, therefore, as an important element in the calcula- 
tions. One field might have only a few Hindi plants, while the next 
would have a considerable percentage. Thus of two adjacent fields 
at Tanta one showed less than 3 per cent of Hindi, the other 15 per 
cent. 

Questioning of the native cultivators showed wide differences of 
individual opinion. Some of them were quite alive to the need of 
pulling out all of the Hindi cotton and showed annoyance or offered 
excuses if reminded that many Hindi plants Avere still to be found in 
their fields. Others took a more languid interest in the matter. 
One cultivator might claim to have pulled out large numbers of 
Hindi already, while his neighbor might not think it necessary to 
admit any responsibility for pulling out the Hindi at all. He would 
not den}", perhaps, that he had heard of the need of pulling out bad 
cotton plants, but w^ould insist that very few people did it. 

The popular impression in Egypt among people who consider 
themselves informed about cotton growing is that selection receives 
proper attention in the Delta region, where the Mit Afifi and Janno- 
vitch, the principal varieties of Egyptian cotton, are grown, but is 
very much neglected in Upper Eg3qDt, where the Ashmuni and other 
inferior stocks are produced. It seems, however, that this impres- 
sion ma}" relate to more careful sorting done in the ginning establish- 
ments of the Delta rather than to any really efficient selection in the 
field. Even about Tanta and Mansurah, the recognized centers of 
production of high-grade fiber, a conspicuous representation of the 
Hindi cotton was seen in a large proportion of the fields. 

The percentages of Hindi plants counted in fields at Tanta, in 
Lower Egypt, are about the same as those obtained at Beni-Suef. in 
210 



PREVALENCE OF HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 21 

Upper Egypt. (See Table 1.) The idea of Hindi cotton seemed to 
be more common about Tanta, but no indication of a serious effort 
to eradicate the Hindi type from the fields could be gathered from 
native cultivators. They are willing to pull out the Hindi plants 
rather than the Egyptian at the time that the hills are thinned down 
to the usual two plants, but have no idea of destroying any more 
plants after the thinning has been done. One very zealous native 
showed interest to the extent of pulling up some of the Hindi plants 
that were pointed out to him, wdiere there w^as an Egyptian plant in 
the same hill. But when there w^ere two Hindi plants together in a 
hill he would pull up only one. Nor could he be induced to sacrifice 
any of the Hindi individuals that stood by themselves, although he 
believed (as was afterward learned) that a Government inspection 
was being made. The Eg^^ptian Government sends entomological 
insj)ectors through the fields to guard against outbreaks of the 
Egyptian bollworm. 

Beni-Suef is considered the chief center of cultivation of the 
Ashmuni cotton, this variet}' being now confined largely to Upper 
Egypt. Inspection of fields in this locality on June G, 1910, showed 
a general prevalence of Hindi and great lack of uniformity in other 
respects, though not as great nor as obvious as in experiments with 
this variety in Arizona. There is the same tendency to red spots at 
the base of the leaves, which is recognized as a mark of this variety 
to distinguish it from Mit Afifi, Jannovitch, and other more care- 
fully selected varieties. The more general tendency to the red spot 
may be a result of a more general contamination with the Hindi 
type of cotton. 

A special count was made at Beni-Suef to learn the extent of 
Hindi contamination as indicated by the presence of the distinct 
red spot at the base of the leaf. This included true Hindi plants, 
obvious hybrids, and all other plants that would have been considered 
as having too red a callus for varieties of Egyptian cotton other than 
Ashmuni. Of 1^13 plants examined for the color of the callus 183 
had the callus green or onl}^ slightly tinged with red, as usual in 
Egyptian cotton, while 80 plants were noted as having the callus 
distinctly red, as in the Hindi cotton. 

In the oasis of Fayum still less attention seems to be paid to the 
Hindi cotton than about Beni-Suef. Native cultivators knew that 
some of the plants produced inferior cotton, but did not claim to be 
able to distinguish them excejDt by the white flowers. There was evi- 
dently no intention of pulling out any of the white-flowered plants. 
The variety planted at Fayum was not considered to be Ashmuni, 
but was merely called Beladi, or " native,"* cotton. 

Other countings of Hindi w^ere made in the Beladi cotton at Siut. 
Cotton is not regularly planted about Siut, but experiments are 

210 



22 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

being made with seed brouglit from Fiiyiim. The percentage of 
Hindi is much hirger than appeared at Fayum, though the phmter 
claimed that he had taken out numerous Hindi phmts when the 
field was thinned. In addition to the plants counted as Hindi, much 
diversity was apparent, almost as much as in a field of Aslimuni 
cotton grown in 1909 at Somerton, Ariz. Such cases suggest the pos- 
sibility that transfer to new conditions ma}^ have the effect of in- 
ducing additional variations in these diverse stocks, but the pro- 
portion of Hindi in either parent stock could not be ascertained. 
Whatever the cause of the phenomenon, it is a significant fact that 
the proportion of Hindi plants and obvious hybrids may run as high 
as 20 per cent. 

The census of Jannovitch cotton at Tanta was somewhat more 
rigorous than that at Beni-Suef and included some plants with dis- 
tinctly red leaf bases; plants with distinctly red leaves and other 
obviously aberrant tendencies that might have been omitted in the 
Ashmuni fields, where the red callus is so common a feature. But 
man}^ other definitely aberrant plants with light-gTeen leaves were 
not included when they lacked the red callus. These light-colored 
plants have the more ample and luxuriant foliage of the Hindi 
hybrids and may represent a second-generation splitting of the Hindi 
characters. Such a splitting might be expected with a color charac- 
ter like the basal spot that also shows seasonal reversibility. 

The smallest proportions of true Hindi plants were found in fields 
in the vicinity of the barrage (a few miles below Cairo) and at 
Calioub, in the same district. None of the fields that were inspected 
in these places showed any large percentages. About two-thirds of 
the plants counted as Hindi were plants of the type considered as 
first-generation hybrids. In one field at the barrage and in another 
at Calioub no true Hindi plants could be found, even after a rather 
careful search, though several obvious hj^brids were present in each 
field. At Benha, on the contrary, the Hindi percentages not only 
ran higher but a larger proportion of the plants represented the true 
Hindi type. 

In the neighborhood where the counts were made near Mansurah 
the native cultivators placed much importance on the elimination 
of the Hindi plants, though they were known by a different name, 
" Haga," the word Hindi not being recognized. It was estimated 
that about 5 to 6 Hindi plants had been removed from each row of 
100 to 150 plants at the time of thinning, in addition to those that 
remained to be counted. This would indicate a total Hindi represen- 
tation of between 5 to 10 per cent in this stock of seed at the time of 
planting. 

In several instances it Avas noticed that the Hindi plants seemed to 
be more numerous on the higher, drier ridges or dikes that bounded 

210 



PREVALENCE OF HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 



23 



the different sections into whicli the fields were divided for irriga- 
tion purposes. Separate counts were made of plants along some of 
the dikes, but without securing any definite evidence. It would be 
interesting to know whether such differences of conditions would 
have an influence over the expression of the Hindi characters. Other 
explanations were possible — that the higher ridges had been neglected 
at the time of thinning the plants or that the Hindi plants had an 
advantage in germinating in the drier soil of the higher ridges, 
because of the smooth seeds. The cotton often appears to be more 
luxuriant on the higher dikes than in other parts of the fields. 
Indeed, such dikes are usually planted with double rows of cotton, 
as though to take full advantage of the more favorable conditions. 



Table I. — Countings of Hindi cotton plants. 



Location. 


Plants 
count- 
ed. 


Egyp- 
tian 
type. 


Hindi 
type. 


Per- 
cent- 
age of 
Hindi. 


Location. 


Plants 
count- 
ed. 


Egyp- 
tian 
type. 


Hindi 
type. 


Per- 
cent- 
age of 
Hindi. 




■ 445 
274 
512 
105 
178 
440 
327 
245 
1.30 


435 
242 
457 
155 
161 
435 
294 
224 
124 


10 
32 
55 
10 
17 
11 
33 
21 
6 


2.24 
11.67 
10.74 
6.06 
9.55 
2.48 
10.09 
8.56 
4.61 


Fayum, Upper Egypt 
(Belddi variety). . . 

Total 


f 871 
\ 676 


819 
629 


52 
47 


5.99 
6.95 


Beni-Suef, Upper 


1,547 


1,448 


99 


6 41 


Egypt ( Ashmuni 


Siut, Upper Egypt. . . 




609 
467 

• 316 
444 

i 467 


494 
398 
260 
354 
383 


115 
69 
56 
90 
84 


18.88 
14.77 
17.72 
20.27 
17.98 




Total 


2,722 


2,527 


195 


7.16 




2,303 


1 889 


414 


17.97 




f 595 
886 
464 
464 
368 
1,028 
806 
1.34 
566 
566 


569 
829 
441 
437 
340 
923 
738 
118 
550 
476 


26 
57 
23 
27 
28 
105 
68 
16 
16 
90 


4.36 
6.43 
4.96 
5.82 
7.61 

10.21 
8.44 

11.92 
2.83 

15.09 


Mansurah, Lower 
EgvDt { Jannovitch 
and Mit Afifi va- 
rieties) 


Tanta, Lower Egypt 
(.Tannovitch variety) 


f 844 
476 
560 
531 
790 
669 
528 
598 
934 


829 
472 
555 
523 
758 
662 
517 
584 
924 


15 
4 
5 
8 
32 
7 
11 
14 
10 


1.77 

.84 

.89 

1.50 

4.05 

1.04 




Total. 


2.08 
2.34 
1.07 


Total 


5,877 


5,421 


456 


7.77 


5,930 


5,824 


106 


1 78 




Benha, Lower Egypt 
Total 




Barrage, near Cairo.. 


1,149 
424 
551 
483 
567 
334 
511 


1,124 
410 
543 

474 
559 
328 
486 


25 

14 
8 
9 
8 
6 

25 


2.17 
3.31 
1.45 
1.86 
1.41 
1.79 
4.89 


I 857 
202 
461 
655 

I 558 


810 
20O 
429 
633 
542 


47 
2 
32 
22 
16 


5.49 
.99 
6.93 
3.36 
2.86 




2, 733 


2,614 


119 


4.36 




Beteha, Palestine 




Total 


4,019 


3,924 


95 


2.36 


f 1,043 

I 889 
1,975 
I 982 


954 

816 

1,947 

946 


89 
73 
28 
36 


8 53 




8.21 
1.41 
3.66 


Calioub, near Cairo. . 


f 417 

497 

|l,216 


412 

493 

1,202 


5 
4 
14 


1.19 

.80 

11"; 






4,889 


4,663 


226 


4.62 




2,130 


2,107 


23 i 1.07 





Count was made of 32,150 plants in all, of which 1,733 were re- 
corded as belonging to the Hindi type, a percentage of 5.39. If the 
percentages for the different localities are averaged, a somewhat 
higher general average, 5.98 per cent, is obtained. 

One series of countings of Hindi plants was made in an experiment 
with Egyptian cotton in Palestine, at a locality called Beteha, near 

210 



24 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

the north end of the Lake of Tiberias, not far from the ancient 
Capernaum. The first two counts at Beteha were made in late- 
phmted fields that had not yet been thinned or roguecl for Hindi. 
The percentages obtained in these cases, 8.53 and 8.21, may be tal^en 
to represent the amount of Hindi contamination represented in the 
seed before pLanting. Earh^-phmtecl fiekls at Beteha seemed to be 
as far advanced as any seen in Egypt, the date of the visit being 
June 23. 

In order to obtain a more general and yet a -not altogether in- 
definite indication of the prevalence of the Hindi cotton, the apparent 
presence or absence of Hindi cotton was noted for a considerable 
number of fields that could be seen to advantage from the railroad. 
Such inspection is greatly facilitated by a fact already considered, 
namely, that the leaves of the Hindi cotton have greater freedom of 
motion than those of the Egyptian cotton, and that they make pro- 
nounced changes of position in order to face the sun in the morning 
and afternoon. The Hindi plants are much more readily seen from a 
distance at these times than in the middle of the day, when the 
leaves are in a horizontal position to face the sun overhead. 

The presence of tall hybrids gives a general impression of uneven 
surfaces to the fields and thus betrays the presence of Hindi cotton, 
even when details of individual plants can not be made out. But 
when the broader, fresh-green leaves of the Hindi plants are formed 
into rosettes to face the sun, they become conspicuous and unmis- 
takable. Indeed, it is sometimes more difficult to distinguish them 
from the okra that is often planted in the fields than from the 
Egyptian cotton. The Egyptian okra (bamieh) has broad leaves of 
the same color as those of the Hindi cotton and also a red spot at the 
junction with the stem. 

Such observations are greatly assisted by the fact that the Egyp- 
tinn railroads are usually elevated on embankments. By being able 
to look down on the fields a more accurate impression can be gained 
than by viewing the plants from the side, as one is obliged to do when 
standing on the same level. 

It is to be expected of course that Hindi plants would be found by 
more careful inspection in most of the fields where they were not ap- 
parent from a passing train. But at least it maj^ be considered that 
fields showing no apparent Hindi have been rogued. In a large pro- 
portion of cases the Hindi plants and hybrids were very conspicuous. 
Fields that have had the Hindi plants and hybrids rogued out often 
appear remarkably even in height and color. 

Such an inspection could not be made to any advantage after the 
Egyptian cotton has entered the fruiting phase, when the color 
changes from a dark to a lighter green, thus destroying the contrast 
with the Hindi cotton, so marked during the earlier vegetative phase. 

210 



PREVALENCE OP HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 



25 



In addition to the lighter color assumed by the foliage of the E^^p- 
tian plants as the season advances, the proportion of yellow in the 
fields is increased by the abundance of bracts and flowers. At the 
time these changes were taking place, about the middle of July, 
the clark-green tone of the vegetative phase was still shown with 
much uniformity in some of the fields, while others had gone over to 
the yellower shades or were still more completely dominated by the 
abundance of yellowish bracts and still yellower flowers. These 
changes seemed to have come rather suddenly, for most of the fields 
seemed to represent one phase or the other quite definiteh% only a 
few showing pronounced individual diversities of coloring among the 
Egyptian plants. 

Table II. — Fields ivilh HinOi cottan (ti)[iarvnt from trains 



Fields were noted between towns— 


Number 
of fields. 


Fields 

witti 

apparent 

Hindi. 


Fields 
without 
apparent 

Hindi. 




48 
53 
81 
82 
88 
24 
30 
51 
13 
24 
90 
29 
34 
49 


46 

50 

76 

81 

82 

22 

24 

a (10) 44 

(3) 13 

(4)17 

(16) 73 

26 

(4)27 

(3)42 


2 


Cliebin and Maotietoul. . . . 


3 




5 


Bilbeis and Zagazis; . 


1 


Zagazie and Abou-Kebir 


6 




2 


Kafr Salcr and Abou el Ciiel<oulv 


6 


Abou el Ciiekouk and Sinibellaouein . 











7 




17 


Samanoud and Mehalla Kebir 


3 




7 


Mehallet Roh and Tanta 


7 






Total 


696 


623 
89.51 


73 




10.48 









a In some loealities fields that showed a strikingly large proportion of Hindi cotton were specially noted, 
and the numbers of such fields are given in parentlieses in the table. It would be safe to estimate that the 
proportion of Hindi cotton and obvious hybrids in such fields was more than 5 per cent. Many fields 
between Bilbeis and Zagazig appeared to he quite as thickly sprinkled with Hindi as any in Upper Egypt 
where percentages of 15 and 20 were counted. 

In addition to fields noted in Table II, many other inspections were 
made in the region between Cairo and Tanta. Several hundred fields 
were seen in Upper Egypt, in every one of which indications of Hindi 
contamination were found. 

In the district between Abou el Chekouk and Mansurah much of 
the cotton at the middle of July was still too small and irregular to 
give favorable conditions for seeing Hindi plants from the train. 
Many of the fields had not begun to flower. In many the stand was 
irregular, or the plants of irregular sizes, perhaps as a result of 
alkali in the soil. Fields of rice interspersed among the cotton 
showed the same irregularity. The unfavorable conditions may be 
partly responsible for the larger proportion of fields with no apparent 
Hindi in this district. Fields with larger plants often showed great 

210 



26 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

nbundance of Hindi. Most of the cotton to the west of Mansurali 
was in better condition and afforded a more reliable indication of the 
prevalence of Hindi, or rather the prevalence of roguing. Though 
the proportion of fields apparently clean of Hindi seemed to be dis- 
tinctly larger than in other districts, many of the fields showed un- 
mistakable Hindi plants in great abundance. 

Unless the conditions are favorable for the detection of the Hindi 
plants such inspections could have very little value, but if made at 
the right time the presence of the Hindi contamination and the 
relative amount in different districts could be judged very easily in 
all localities accessible by railroad. The time would differ with the 
growth of the cotton in the different localities, probably extending 
through the month of July. Before June 20 the Hindi plants could 
seldom be seen from the trains, but during the second and third 
weeks of July they were easy to see in all except the more backward 
districts. 

CHARACTERS OF HINDI HYBRIDS. 

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF HYBRIDS. 

Except in cases that are especially noted, the plants enumerated as 
Hindi in the jDi'eceding tables comprise two elements, the typical 
Hindi plants and the pronounced Hindi hybrids, those that resemble 
the first generation of the crosses that have been made between the 
Hindi and the Egyptian cottons. 

\^^ien the fields are in the earlier vegetative phase, the pronounced 
hybrids can be distinguished from the Egyptian plants by the light 
color of the leaves and the red pulvinus at the base of the veins, al- 
most as easily as the true Hindi. The larger size of the hybrids also 
attracts attention. The leaves of the hybrids become larger than 
those of the true Hindi plants, and most of the larger leaves have 
five or seven distinct lobes instead of three. The lobes of the hybrids 
are somewhat folded or channeled, like those of the Egyptian cotton, 
instead of spreading out nearly flat, as in the Hindi cotton. The 
larger size of the involucral bracts of hybrids is another feature 
usually quite obvious. (PI. TV. B.) The teeth do not always run 
down toward the base of the bracts, as in the Hindi cotton, though 
there is a general tendency in this direction. In Arizona the Hindi 
hybrids have shown a marked tendency to sterility or to very late 
bearing, but in Egypt, early in June, some of the hybrids seemed to 
be more advanced toward flowering than their Egyptian neighbors. 

The countings of the Hindi plants and obvious hybrids do not by 
any means indicate the full extent of the Hindi contamination in 
the Egyptian fields. There is background of diversity too multi- 
farious to be counted or even noted in detail without careful inspection 

210 



CHARACTERS OF HINDI HYBRIDS. 27 

of the characters of individual jilants. Crossing between hybrid 
phints and Eg^^ptian must produce many very dihite hj^brids with 
little or no expression of the Hindi characters. Indeed, it may well 
be doubted whether any of the Egj'ptian stock would be found to be 
entirely free from the Hindi contamination if all of the ancestry 
could be traced. As j^et we have no knowledge of the effects of slight 
dilutions of the Hindi blood upon the expression of characters, but 
experiments are being made to obtain infomiation on this point. 

Two principal elements might be recognized in the study of the 
diversity that exists in the Egyptian fields. One element might be 
ascribed to the prevalence of the Hindi cotton, the other to variation 
inside the Egyptian type. But in the present state of our knowledge 
it is often quite impossible to determine at once whether a variant 
plant is a dilute Hindi hybrid or an unusual example of the Egj'ptian 
stock. Evidence on this question can be secured by planting the 
seed to see whether the progeny " come true " to the characters of 
the parent, as in a mutation, or show more pronounced reversions 
to the Hindi type. But many mutative variations are also to be 
considered as reversions. The practical fact is that the Hindi con- 
tamination is responsible for a large amount of diversity outside of 
the obvious hybrid forms that resemble first-generation crosses. 

Among the j^lants enumerated as Egyptian are many that are 
appreciabl}^ different from the Egv^ptian type, even in the early part 
of the season. Without departing seriously from the Egyptian form 
and habits of growth, some of the plants have broader or narrower 
leaves, lighter or darker than their neighbors. Though the form of 
the leaves may be that of the Egyptian cotton, the bases of the veins 
may be reddened as in the Hindi. Or plants with Egyptian foliage 
ma}^ have unusual habits of growth, the more frequent tendency 
being toward taller stalks and more strictly upright branches. 

The large cordate bracts that characterize the most obvious Hindi 
hybrids are not entireh^ confined to that class of plants, but may be 
found on other large plants with foliage of Egyptian shape and 
color. The pulvinus may have the Hindi size, shape, and color, 
though concealed by more abundant hairs. In addition to the large 
circular, or very deeply cordate bracts, with the teeth running well 
down, such plants often have the calyx distinctly toothed, though 
the teeth do not have the long slender points that occur so frequently 
in the Hindi cotton. (See Pis. Ill and IV.) 

As the season advances such differences become more apparent. 
Wlien flowering and fruiting begin the hj-brid nature of many indi- 
viduals becomes unmistakable, even in plants that might not have 
been suspected of hybridit}^ from the vegetative characters alone. 
Roguing must not be limited to the time of thinning in the early 

210 



28 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

spring if any complete elimination of the Hindi characters is ex- 
pected." 

The tendency to revert to small bolls is one of the most freqnent 
and least obvious evidences of Hindi contamination. Small bolls 
can often be fonnd on large-boiled plants, but many individuals pro- 
duce only small bolls. The shape of the bolls may not suggest Hindi, 
though other Hindi characters may be found, such as naked seeds, 
sparse white lint, or pale spots in the flowers. 

To make a complete enumeration of all the plants that show any 
of the Plindi characters it would be necessary to watch a field of 
cotton through the whole season, for in some plants only the lint and 
the seeds may betray the Hindi ancestry. Already, at the beginning 
of the fruiting season in Egypt, it became evident that many of 
the aberrant Egyptian plants were really Hindi hybrids, in addition 
to the tjqoe of hybrids that had been included in the countings. 
Even in the fields that had been quite carefully rogued, as at Man- 
surah, so that only very small percentages of plants with the Hindi 
foliage were left, many white-flowered individuals remained. The 
leaves of the white-flowered plants seemed to be a little broader than 
those of adjacent yellow-flowered Egyptian plants, but the difference 
was not enough to be noticed if attention had not been attracted by 
the flowers. 

COHERENCE OF CHARACTERS IN HYBRIDS. 

It is not yet certain that all of the more Hindi-like hybrid plants 
are really first -generation hj^brids, the direct result of cross-fertiliza- 
tion between Hindi and Eg;\'ptian plants. All that is known at pres- 
ent is that the crossing of Egyjotian with Hindi does produce plants 
of the Hindi-like hybrid type. The experiment has been made in 
Egypt by Mr. Balls and in Arizona by Messrs. McLachlan and 
Meade. It is possible, however, that some of the Hindi-like hybrid 
forms may represent the progeny of h3'brid parents. According to 
the Mendelian theory of heredity a part of each generation of hy- 
brids should resemble the first generation, while the remainder 
should show other combinations of the parental characters. In typi- 
cal Mendelian hybrids the contrasted parental characters are sup- 
posed to have entire^ freedom of chance combination in the second 
and later generations. 

In reality there does not seem to be such complete freedom of com- 
bination of the two sets of characters that represent the two parental 
types. Plants that have the Hindi foliage, or that of the Hindi-like 
hybrid type, invariably have the white petals of the Hindi cotton. 

°' Cotton Selection on the Farm by the Characters of the Stalks, Leaves, and 
Bolls, Circular No. 66, Bureau of Plant Industry, IT. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 
1910. 

210 



CHARACTERS OF HINDI HYBRIDS. 29 

White flowers always have the more open, cuplike form of the 
Hindi cotton instead of the longer and more tubular form of the 
Egyptian cotton. It very rarely if ever happens that any single 
Hindi character is brought into definite expression by itself — that is, 
without being accompanied by the more or less definite expression of 
other Hindi characters. It is hardly to be supposed that any of the 
Hindi plants, any more than the Egyptian, are pure bred in the 
sense of having had no Egyptian ancestors, and yet the Hindi type 
is nearly as uniform as the Egyptian, in spite of all the selection 
that has been directed against it. Neither is it reasonable to assume 
that all of the pronounced hybrid plants have the same proportions of 
Hindi and Egyptian blood, though they form nearly as definite a 
group as the parent types. 

Hindi-like lint and seeds sometimes occur on plants that give little 
or no external evidence of Hindi contamination, but plants that have 
previously shown Hindi leaves or flowers very seldom, if ever, have 
typical Egyptian bolls or lint of good Egyptian quality. In a field 
of Jannovitch cotton raised in Arizona in 1909 from imported 
Egyptian seed numerous individuals were found that seemed, early 
in the season, to depart from the normal Egyptian type only in the 
lighter and more pinkish tinge of the purple spot at the base of the 
petals. But when these plants were examined again in the fall it 
was found that the bolls and lint also departed from the type of the 
variety. All the pale-spotted individuals had small bolls, and some 
of them showed naked seeds and short Hindi-like lint. 

That the depth of color of the petal spot can be, in itself, a matter 
of any direct significance in the economy of the plant is hardly to 
be believed, but it seems to have an indirect significance as indicating 
a tendency for the Hindi or other abnormal characters to come into 
expression. Wliite petals may be considered in the same way as evi- 
dence of a still stronger tendencv to express the Hindi characters 
in the parts to be subsequently formed. Very pale yellow flowers 
were noticed on a few Egyptian-like plants at Mansurah, but in 
nearly all cases a departure from the normal Egyptian color involved 
a complete change to the creamy white of the Hindi flowers. 

Although white Hindi-like flowers are rarely to be found on plants 
that have produced Egyptian foliage, such sudden changes in the 
expression of the characters do not appear to be normal phenomena 
of heredity, at least in cotton hj^brids, for plants with these incon- 
gruous combinations of characters are generally infertile and some- 
times completely sterile."^ 

"^ Mutative Reversions in Cotton. Circular No. 53, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1910, p. 6. 
210 



30 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

Coherence of characters is not confined to Hindi hybrids, but 
apparently has to be reckoned with in any attempt to combine the 
characters of different types of cotton. The phenomenon was first 
recognized and described in the study of Egyptian-Upland hybrids 
in Texas and Arizona. It differs from correlation in affecting whole 
groups of characters instead of only two or three. Thus a general 
correlation may be said to run through many different types of cot- 
ton — between the shape of the boll and the length of the lint or 
between the color of the lint and its strength. Correlation refers pri- 
marily to the fact that certain characters tend to vary together, one 
increasing or diminishing in relation with another. The fact that 
the weight of ears of corn increases with their length is reckoned as 
a correlation. Coherence refers to the expression of characters in 
hybrids. It denotes a condition in Avhich characters derived from 
the same parent remain together in expression instead of being 
expressed in chance combinations as in Mendelian hybrids. 

Correlations often appear entirely arbitrary, unless they are merely 
mathematical expressions, as in the case of the corn ears. From the 
mathematical standpoint it seems impossible to understand why long 
fibers should not be packed into round bolls as well as into pointed 
bolls or why brown fibers should not grow as long as white fibers. 
But after the tendency to coherence of much larger groups of char- 
acters has been recognized as a fact correlations appear somewhat 
less mysterious. The general association of longer lint with more 
pointed bolls in any particular type of cotton may be connected with 
the other general fact that the long-linted types of cotton have more 
gradually tapering bolls than short-linted types of cotton. Coher- 
ence imj^lies that the expression or nonexpression of one character 
may determine whether other characters shall be patent or latent. 

A striking example of coherence of characters was observed in 
Egypt in a block of hybrids made by Mr. F. Fletcher, director of 
the School of Agriculture at Gizeh, between an American Upland 
variety called Jackson's Limbless and an Egyptian variety called 
Voltos, somewhat similar to Nubari. Voltos being the male parent. 
In addition to many other courtesies of -hospitality Mr. Fletcher 
most generously insisted upon a full use of his interesting series of 
experimental plantings of cotton at Gizeh, which yielded many in- 
teresting facts with special relation to problems of diversity. 

Instead of the usual tendency of some of the Egyptian traits to 
predominate in the first generation, this lot of hybrids showed an 
unusually definite expression of the Upland characters. Very few 
of the plants would have been taken for Egyptian cotton, even on 
casual examination, and none of them showed any close approxima- 
tion to the Egyptian type. On the other hand, a considerable pro- 
portion of the plants adhered very closely to the characters of the 

210 



CHARACTERS OP HINDI HYBRIDS. 31 

Upland type. Several of these Avere distinctly clustered and some 
were quite limbless, like the Upland parent, though the majority did 
not have the shortened internodes. 

Coherence of characters was shown very conspicuously in the fact 
that all of the definitely clustered or limbless plants had the Upland 
type of foliage, all were quite hairy, and all had white petals, as in 
Upland cotton. The only definite mark of hybridization on several 
of these plants w^as the purple spot at the base of the petals. Wlien 
the purple spot Avas lacking there was no definite evidence of hy!)ridi- 
zation, but some plants that would have been taken for pure Upland 
in all other respects had very faint spots, shoAving that they were 
hybrids. 

There was no complete dominance of the yellow fiower color as 
reported in some Egyptian- Upland hybrids. None of the yelloW 
flowers were as yellow as those of Egyptian cotton. All of the yellow 
flowers had pale-purple spots at the base of the petals. Some of the 
white flowers had spots as dark as any of the yellow flowers. In 
this respect the hybrids ma}' be said to afford an example of the 
Mendelian law of free combination, but these variations occurred in 
the first generation, where Mendelian crosses are expected to give 
more uniform results. 

Another lot of hybrids produced by Mr. Pletcher by fertilizing an 
Upland cotton from Cochin China Avith pollen of the Voltos variety 
of Egyptian cotton shoAved quite a contrast in comparison with the 
preceding series. Nearly all of these plants looked like ordinary 
first-generation Upland-Egyptian hybrids, except one that shoAved 
only Upland features. But the Avhite petals had small purple sj^ots 
as an evidence that the plant represented a true hybrid, not merely 
a result of accident in manipulation. The plant Avas very hairy and 
the leaves and bolls shoAved no departure from Upland characters. 
All other plants of the cross had pale-yelloAv flowers, and all the 
floAvers had the spots pale, sometimes entirely wanting. The spot 
character Avould haA^e to be reckoned as nearly recessive, but not 
quite completely so. Two plants Avere found in the same lot that 
might haAe been taken for ordinary Egyptian individuals, unless it 
Avere for too much hair, but one plant Avas more hirsute than the 
other, especially on the under side of the leaves, Avhere the stellate 
hairs developed into noticeable tufts. This also must be taken as a 
sign of hybridity. The other plant Avas somcAvhat abnormal, in that 
it produced several sterile involucres comj)osed of only a single bract. 

In a third lot of hybrids between the Voltos variety of Egyptian 
cotton as the female parent and the Cochin China Upland as the 
male there were several more plants of a complete Upland type. 
Three of these plants had been grown from fuzzy seeds that appeared 
in the Voltos cotton, an indication that the variety Avas not pure. 

77267°— Bui. 210—11 3 



32 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

The habit of these plants was much like the Cochin China parent and 
also closely similar to that of the Rabinal and Pachon varieties of 
Upland cotton from Central America. The plants were very hairy 
and the bracts were unusually well closed, as well or better than in 
the Rabinal cotton, and being also larger they remained closed to a 
more advanced stage. This character of the closed bracts was also 
shown among the hybrids. It was fully expressed, or even intensi- 
fied, in some of the plants that had yellow flowers and other unmis- 
takable evidences of hybridity. Well-closed hairy bracts have value 
as a w^eevil-resistant character, since they exclude the insects from 
the young buds." 

The phenomenon of coherence of characters is not only of interest 
from the standpoint of the scientific study of heredity, but is of 
distinct practical importance in relation to the problem of develop- 
ing and maintaining uniformity in cultivated varieties. It repre- 
sents on the one hand a limitation of the power of the breeder to 
make free combinations of the characters of different species, as in 
ordinary Menclelian hybrids, but on the other hand it assists in main- 
taining the uniformity of established strains and guarding them 
against contamination. If there were no coherence in the expres- 
sion of the characters any Hindi character could come into expres- 
sion independent of any other. The work of selection would involve 
a detailed inspection of each plant by all of its characters and would 
require an amount of time that would make it entirely impracticable 
as a farm operation, even though the farmer should acquire the neces- 
sary skill. In short, it is the fact of coherence of characters that 
lends value to selection, that makes it possible by roguing to improve 
or maintain the quality of the crop. 

The success of the Egyptian method of securing commercial uni- 
formity by matching the color of the fiber rests also on the fact that 
variations in the color of the lint are not independent of other char- 
acters. The inferior lint of the Hindi plants and hybrids does not 
have the same color as the lint of Egyptian plants. If there were 
no coherence of the Hindi characters the brown color would be found 
in combination with the naked seeds and short, lint of the Hindi type, 
but this seems never to occur. 

Recognition of the principle of coherence calls attention to the 
practical fact that plants seldom make serious changes in the expres- 
sion of one character without showing changes of expression on other 
characters. The plants that produce the inferior lint in the fall are 
those that have departed from the regular courses of development 
earlier in the season. Indeed, these departures from normal heredity 

« Weevil-Resisting Adaptations of the Cotton Plant, Bulletin No. 88, Bureau 
of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1906. 
210 



CHARACTERS OF HINDI HYBRIDS. 33 

can usually be recognized nmcli more readily b}^ inspecting the vege- 
tative characters of the i:)lants in the earlier stages of development 
than after the crop is ripe and the damage of cross-fertilization has 
been done. It takes only an instant to see that the foliage or the 
habits of growth of a plant are different from those of its neighbors, 
much less time than is required to judge plants by their lint and 
seed characters at maturity, after the external differences of leaves, 
flowers, and bolls are no longer to be appreciated. 

The breeder in search of new varieties may find it desirable to pre- 
serve all the sports or freak plants that he can find to see Avhether in 
some rare cases they may not prove superior to normal plants of the 
A'ariety, but the farmer who follows this course will lead his variety 
to degeneration. He must rely on the fact that the vast majority of 
the plants that diverge from the characters of the variety represent 
degenerations. His policy is to pull all the aberrant plants as soon 
as they can be detected. If allowed to remain, they will destroy the 
uniformity of the stock." 

INTEXSIFICATION OF CHARACTERS IX HYLlRn)S. 

Another deviation from the Mendelian expression of characters in 
cotton hj^brids is found in cases where characters are suppressed or 
intensified beyond the range of variation of the parental types. The 
crossing of the Egyptian cotton with shoi't-staple Upland varieties 

"A writer in the Li\erpool Daily Post and iMercury (Saturday, March 12, 
1910) niaiutaius that periods of prosperity for the Egyptian cotton industry 
have followed the introduction of new varieties and that periods of depression 
ensued as the varieties degenerated: 

" It is to be remarked that each time a new variety of seed was sown for 
the first time of cultivating an increase was immediately obtained of 1 to 1^ 
cantars weight per feddan. and as high as 12 to 14 per cent m the ginning 
yield. This increase diminished with the passing years and by slow degrees 
the seed degenerated. The excellent results of the beginning did not bear out 
their early promise, and after a lapse of time of more or less duration the seed 
cultivated had to be abandoned to give place to a new variety. * * * 

"And it is the same story. As in 1SG2, when the Jumel, old and degenerated, 
had to be abandoned, as in 1892 the Ashmuni had to be rei)laced by JMitafflfi, so 
to-day the Mitaffifi seems coming to the end of its career, and no one can deny 
the degeneration of quality. 

"While in 1891, 1S92, and IS93 it yielded 7 to S cantars per feddan on the 
best lands and 5 to 6 on the others, at the present day it never gives either 7 
or S cantars, and in Lower Egypt its production has certainly diminished by 1 
to 1* cantars per feddan on an average. This cotton, which during the first 
years of its cultivation yieldetl 110 to 114 in ginning, no longer gives to-day 
more than 101 to 103, and that with difficulty. * - * 

" Seventeen years, therefore, had sufficed for the degeneration of .Tumel, and 
it is exactly after the same lapse of time that we are forced to notice the 
degeneration of iMitaffifi." 
210 



34 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

usually results in a favorable intensification of the lint characters in 
the first generation. Notwithstanding the inferiority of the lint of 
the Upland parent, the lint of the hybrid is usually longer and 
stronger than that of a pure Egyptian progeny grown under the 
same conditions." 

A form of intensification occasionally shown in Egyptian-Upland 
hybrids is an unusual development of the nectaries. An excellent 
example of this was found in an aberrant plant at Calioub, July 12, 
1910. It was probably a Hindi hybrid, though shoAving no pro- 
nounced Hindi characters. It was much taller than its neighbors 
and had unusually long basal internodes on the fruiting branches. 
Avhile the other internodes Avere short and imperfect. Many buds 
had aborted and no bolls had been set. Each of the involucres that 
remained on the plant, 15 in number, had a large nectary on each of 
the three bracts. 

In order to give a more definite indication of the extent of intensi- 
fication shown by the nectaries of this plant, notes Avere made of the 
occurrence of nectaries on the involucral bracts of six adjacent plants, 
one of which happened to be Hindi. The loAver buds of the Egyptian 
plants were generally Avithout nectaries, unlike the Hindi plant Avhich 
had nectaries on the early as well as on the later involucres, though 
with no such regularity as in the aberrant plant, to say nothing of 
the much larger and more regular size of the nectaries of the aber- 
rant plant. Table III shoAvs the distribution of nectaries on all the 
involucral bracts of the Egyptian and Hindi plants. Bracts Avith 
large nectaries are indicated as " N," those with small nectaries as 
"n," those with no nectaries as "o." No nectaries as large as those 
of the aberrant plant Avere found on any of the neighboring Egyptian 
and Hindi individuals. Several other plants Avere examined in addi- 
tion to those that Avere definitely counted. One of the Egyptian 
plants had an involucre Avith only tAvo bracts, a not uncommon 
occurrence. 

« Suppressed and Intensified Characters in Cotton Hybrids, Bulletin 147, 
Bureau of Plant Industry. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1909. 
210 



CHARACTERS OP HINDI HYBRIDS. 35 

Table III. — Census of nectaries of Egyptian and Hindi cotton plants. 



Adjacent plants. 


Aberrant 
plant. 


Adjacent plants. 


Egyptian. 


Egyptian. 


Egyptian. 


Hindi. 


Egyptian. 


Egyptian. 


n o 


COO 

o o 


n n 
o 

n n n 
n n n 


coo 
o o o 

GOO 

o o 



o o o 
o o n 
o u n 
n u n 
o o n 
o n 


N N N 
N N N 

N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 
N N N 


o o o 
o 
o n 11 
n n 
n n o 

GOO 

n o 
o o n 
n o n 


O () o 

o o o 
n 11 o 

O () o 


G G G 
O G 

() n G 

G G U 
11 G G 
G 11 n 
( ) G G 
GOG 
G n 11 



Another example of a notable departure from parental characters 
was shown in a block of hybrids produced by Mr. Fletcher by cross- 
ing two Egyptian varieties. The whole block showed a remarkable 
susceptibility to a disease of the roots similar to the wilt of the 
United States. The whole block of plants was notably different in 
behavior from either of the three other blocks of hybrids that in- 
closed it on three sides; the other side bordered on a roadway. All 
of the plants were small, with a very open habit of growth, and 
their foliage was tinged with red. Many of the roots were dead or 
dying and had changed to a grayish-brown color. The contrast 
between this block and its neighbors was very distinct out to the 
square corners, with the larger and more healthy plants on either 
side. 

Microscopical examination by Mr. Fletcher found the fibro-vascu- 
lar bundles of the roots stuffed with fungous mycelium. There 
seemed to be no escape from Mr. Fletcher's view that this particular 
stock of hybrids was unusually susceptible to the disease in compari- 
son with the surrounding stocks. The peculiarity may have come, 
of course, from one of the individual plants that happened to be 
used as parent of the cross, but this does not diminish the value of 
the evidence that some members of the Egyptian type maj' have 
marked susceptibility to the disease. Mr. Fletcher has noted other 
indications of such susceptibility and is inclined to believe that the 

210 



36 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

disease may be an unrecognized cause of much damage to the crop. 
It appears that the sj-mptoms are generally more pronounced on 
land that had cotton the year before, birt the observations have not 
extended far enough to establish this point. 

RELATIONSHIPS OF HINDI AND EGYPTIAN COTTONS. 

The Egyptian cotton in the United States is exposed to the addi- 
tional danger of crossing with the American Upland type of cotton. 
It is quite as important to guard against this danger as to exclude the 
Hindi contamination (hat has caused so many difficulties and losses 
in Egypt. 

Experiments indicate that the result of allowing the Egyptian 
cotton to be crossed with Upland pollen will be much the same as 
with the Hindi, and this is also to be expected from the fact that 
the Hindi cotton shares many of the character's of Upland cotton, 
and especially those of some of the types of Upland cotton that have 
been discovered recently in southern Mexico and Central America." 

Though differing in minor details, there is a general agreement 
between the American Upland types of cotton and the Hindi in the 
habits of growth, the form, color, and textures of the leaves, in- 
volucres, and flowers. The external characters of the bolls are also 
much the same. The principal difference lies in the character of the 
seeds. In the American Upland cottons the seeds are generally 
covered Avitli a dense coat of short fuzz, though some of our varie- 
ties show frequent variations in the direction of naked seeds, like 
those of the Hindi cotton. Indeed, there are occasional variations 
where the lint and the fuzz are both lacking, showing that the seed 
characters of the Hindi cotton lie within the range of variation of 
the Upland type. Thus if the parentage of a hybrid plant is not 
known it may be impossible to determine whether it represents the 
Hindi contamination or an Upland cross. In general it maj^ be 
assumed that plants with hairy stems and leaves represent Upland 
hybrids rather than Hindi, for the tj^pical Hindi cotton is not hairy. 
Yet a few hairy Hindi-like plants have been found in Eg^pt as well 
as in plantings of imported seed in Arizona. 

From the standi^oint of the study of heredit}^ it would be verj?- 
desirable to determine when the Hindi contamination of the Egyp- 
tian cotton took place. The Hindi variations may represent a recent 
admixture or the crossing may have taken place so far back as to 
represent a general constitutional tendency to reversion pervading 
the whole Egyptian tj^pe. The idea that the Hindi cotton grew as 
a wild weed in Egypt would allow us to suppose that the process of 

''Origin of the Iliiuli Cotton, Circular No. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. 
Dept. of Agriculture. 
210 



RELATIONSHIPS OP HINDI AND EGYPTIAN COTTONS. 37 

contamination had been continuous, with some new crosses every 
year to rephice those that were removed by selection. But the idea 
of wikl cotton in Eg^^pt and also the theory founded upon it seem 
altogether improbable. The sources of the Hindi contamination must 
apparently be sought farther back. 

Another possibility is that the Hindi cotton was formerly ciilti- 
v'lted in Eo-ypt before the present so-called Egyptian type was mtro- 
cluced andlhat the mixing occurred while the Egyptian cotton was 
replacincr the Hindi. A difficulty with this idea is that the lint of the 
Hindi cotton is so sparse and short as to make its cultivation seem 
improbable. But it is possible that Hindi plants now appearing as 
reversions among the Egyptian cotton do not fully represent the 
possibilities of the Hindi type in the direction of Imt production 
While there is a <reneral tendencv to sparse lint among naked-seeded 
types of cotton, this is not universal. A strain of Caravonica cotton 
Jrown in Hawaii has verv abundant lint, in spite of the fact that 
the seeds are entirely devoid of fuzz, as shown by samples recently 
deposited with the Department of Agriculture by Dr. E. V. A^ ilcox, 
Director of the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. Mr 
Eletcher has recent information indicating that Hindi cotton is still 
planted as a crop in Mesopotamia under the same name as in Egypt. 
Plants grown at Gizeh by Mr. Fletcher from seed received from 
Mesopotlimia were carefully examined and seemed to show all the 
essential characters of the Hindi cotton. (See PL III.) It is pos- 
sible, therefore, that the Hindi admixture may be traced by way ot 

Mesopotamia. v v i + r»i^ 

The idea that the Mediterranean countries were limited to um 
World types of cotton {Gossypmm herhaneum, and its relatives 
indicum, arboreum, etc.) even in ancient times may prove to be 
erroneous. In southern Italy an Upland-like cotton is cultivated 
under an ancient name ''homhage,'' evidently cognate with the Greek 
''hombaxr The plants are quite small and somewhat hairy, hke 
American Upland cotton, but the bracts are very strongly toothed 
after the Hindi fashion. 

In this connection it may be well to mention the fact that a sample 
of seed of brown, rough-fibered cotton has recently been received 
from northern Arabia by the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture. While these seeds and lint do not closely resemble those of any 
recognized variety, they show more of an approach to the Egyptian 
qualities than any samples previously seen from the Old World. 
Another small sample of seeds and lint, received about the same time 
from Honduras, has a much closer resemblance to the Egyptiaii 
cotton and is stated to represent a native tree cotton. These seeds 
have the size and shape of Egyptian seeds with tufts of brownish 



210 



38 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

fuzz at the ends, and the lint is similar to that of the Egyptian cotton, 
whereas the seeds from Arabia are covered with a brown fuzz. 

While at Gizeh there Avas also opportunity, through the kindness 
of Mr. W. Lawrence Balls, botanist of the Khedivial Society, to see 
living plants of a kidney cotton raised from seed brought from the 
Niam-Niam country in the upper valley of the White Xile, a type 
considered by Mr. Balls as representing one of the parents of the 
Egyptian cotton. It has to be admitted that these plants show a 
notable agreement with the Elgyptian cotton in many respects and 
are quite unlike any of the varieties of kidney-seeded cotton that have 
been seen in Mexico and Central America or received from those 
countries. 

The Niam-Niam cotton has three external nectaries present with 
great regularit}^, reniform-cordate in shape, and usually distinctly 
emarginate on the upper side. The nectaries are always of a red 
color, at least on these well-exposed plants. Inner nectaries are 
also present with much regularity, are broadly V shaped, and often 
colored red. The surfaces of the nectaries are rather coarsely 
granular-papillate and without hairs. Cases of supposed intensi- 
fication of nectaries in Egyptian hybrids might be considered as 
reversions to such an ancestor as this. 

The leaves vary from entire to 5 lobed, the latter usually on the 
rank growth of new shoots. Occasionally there are 6 or 7 lobes, but 
the additional lobes are usually small. The leaves are of the Egyp- 
tian form and color, somewhat more hairy than usual in Egyptian 
cotton, but the hairs are short, as in some variations of the Egyptian 
type. The pulvinus and veins are green or tinged with dull reddish, 
as in Egyptian cotton. The pulvinus is very hairy and not enlarged, 
but the outer pairs of veins show an occasional tendency to unite at 
the base. There are 1 to 3 leaf nectaries, those of the midribs being 
sagittate. 

The stipules of the main stalk and vegetative branches are long 
and slender as in rank-growing Egyptian cotton, while those of the 
fruiting branches are unequal, one narrow and the other broad, the 
latter often with two teeth. 

The bracts are usually connate at their base for one-eighth to one- 
fourth inch, as often occurs in Egyptian cotton. The calyx has veiy 
distinct, broadly rounded lobes (PI. V, 6'), more prominent than is 
usual in the Egyptian cotton but nearly equaled under some condi- 
tions, as in the Egyptian cotton grown near Los Angeles in the season 
of 1909. 

The plants at Gizeh were quite woody and about 10 feet high, and 
had no tendency to produce elongated fruiting branches. Only one 
flower was borne on each fruiting branch. The pedicels of the flowers 

210 



RELATIONSHIPS OP HINDI AND EGYPTIAN COTTONS. 39 

were very short and subtended by a small leaf, usually with one 
stipule very much enlarged and often toothed, somewhat like an in- 
volucral bract. 

One of the most striking peculiarities in which the Niam-Niam 
cotton agrees with the Egyptian is the tendency to enlargement of 
one of the stipules of the leaves of the fruiting branches. It has 
been noticed in Arizona that abnormally large strong- growing plants 
of Egj^ptian cotton often have this tendency very pronounced, a fact 
suggestive of the possibility that such plants may represent reversions 
toward an ancestral form similar to the Niam-Niam cotton. The 
unequal development of the stipules has been considered in relation 
to Hindi hybrids, but such a tendency does not seem to be as pro- 
nounced in the Hindi hj'brids as in the Egyptian cotton and in this 
xVfrican relative. Enlarged stipules are especially likely to be found 
in Egyptian cotton on leaves of short branches produced from the 
fruiting branches and may be connected with the tendency of such 
branches to produce organs intermediate between the ordinary leaves 
and the involucral bracts. 

Wliile the Niam-Niam cotton must certainly be considered in the 
study of the relationships of the Egyptian cotton, it seems more likely 
to prove a collateral relative than a direct ancestor. It is very difficult 
to believe that the Egyptian cotton descended from a kidney-seeded 
ancestor or from one that had the fruiting branches so shortened and 
specialized as the Niam-Niam cotton. 

The most significant thing regarding these cottons from Mesopo- 
tamia and central Africa is that they may add something to the evi- 
dence of the existence of genuine Old World varieties of the Upland 
type of cottons. The Upland variety from Cochin China recently 
brought forward by Mr. Fletcher as an ancestor for our American 
Upland cottons is also very interesting from this standpoint." 

As seen growing at Gizeh the Cochin China cotton shows a remark- 
able resemblance to some of the Central American varieties and 
especially to two types from the Central Plateau and the Pacific slope 
of Guatemala, those that have been described as Pachon and Eabinal. 
The Guatemalan Upland cottons and other related types from south- 
ern Mexico show very close agreements with the Hindi cotton in 
so many of the characters that a rather close relationship must 
be supposed to exist. This renders the close resemblance of the 
Cochin China cotton to the Centi-al American varieties all the more 
interesting. 

The Cochin China cotton shows in Egypt the same bushy habit of 
growth with many upright vegetative branches as the Central Ameri- 

« Fletcher, F. The Orisjin of Egyptian Cotton, Cairo Scientific .Tonrnal, vol. 2, 
no. 26, November, 1908. 

210 



40 HIKDt COTTON IN EGYI'T. 

can Upland cottons when first brought to the United States, though 
not carried to quite the same extent under the less extreme Egyptian 
conditions. The stems, leaves, and involucres are densely hairy as 
in the Central American cottons. The bracts also have the margins 
hairy and very firmly appressecl in the same way as in the Central 
American cottons and perhaps to an even greater extent. 

The lobes of the calj^x have the same tendency to grow into long 
teeth (PL V, ^), and the bolls have the same conic-oval, abruptly 
apiculate form which several of the Central American varieties share 
w^ith the Hindi cotton. In short, the resemblance seems so complete 
that if the Cochin China cotton had been found in Central America 
it would have been considered as only one more of the relatively slight 
local variations shown by the general type represented by the Rabinal 
and Pachon varieties. The most notable difference was an apparent 
absence of bractlets, but this condition could probabh' be found on 
second-year wood in the Central American varieties, ^^^lile the 
Cochin China cotton, like the Central American varieties, appears 
to be a relative of our American Upland cottons, there are native 
Mexican varieties that seem to be still more closely related to some 
of our United States Upland varieties. Yet it is not impossible that 
Mr. Fletcher's idea of tracing the Cochin China cotton to the United 
States through an early introduction of so-called " Siam cotton " may 
turn out to be true of our long-staple Upland type still grown in 
Louisiana. 

If thp Cochin China cotton were more nearly identical with our 
United States Upland cottons it might be looked upon as an introduc- 
tion from the United States, but it is much less likely that a local 
Central American variety has been carried to Cochin China. The 
information of Mr. Fletcher's correspondent, that this cotton was 
really indigenous in Cochin China, ma}^ therefore be credited." 

While the existence of these additional relatives of the Egyptian 
and Hindi types of cotton in the Old World does not affect the evi- 
dences of relationship that have been pointed out between these types 
of cotton and others that ajopear to be natives of America, it does 
have a bearing upon the question of how these members of American 
types of cotton reached the Old World. If many sorts like the Hindi, 
Egyptian, Niam-Niam, and Cochin China cottons are found in differ- 
ent parts of the Old World it will not be reasonable to believe that 
they represent recent importations from America, since the time of 
Columbus. It will be necessary to^ consider the possibility that 
American types of cotton, like the- coconut palm, sweet potato, and 

« Fletcher, F. The Botany and Origin of American Upland Cotton. Cairo 
Scientific Journal, vol. 3, no. 38, November, 1907, p. 263. 
210 



SUPPOSED INCREASE OF HINDI COTTON. 41 

other economic plants of American origin, were carried across the 
Pacific Ocean in prehistoric times." 

If our long-staple varieties of Upland cotton originated in the 
East Indies it is reasonable to expect that other superior types of 
Upland cotton may be found in that part of the world. Indeed, Mr. 
Fletcher's Cochin China cotton seems to be a promising type, worthy 
of attention from the standpoint of acclimatization. The bolls are 
larger than in our long-staple Upland varieties and the lint is of good 
length. The very large and well-closed hairy involucral bracts 
would have value from the standpoint of weevil resistance, like the 
similar bracts of the Central American varieties which exclude the 
boll weevils from the young buds, as already noted in describing the 
hybrids of the Cochin China cotton.^ 

SUPPOSED INCREASE OF HINDI COTTON. 

The popular belief in Egypt is that the proportion of Hindi cot- 
ton is increasing, though there seems to be no way to obtain definite 
information on this point. Intelligent natives declare that they 

" Food Plants of Ancient America, Smithsonian Report 1903, pp. 481-497. 

Agricnltnral History and Utility of the Cultivated Aroids, Bulletin 164, 
pt. 2, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1910. 

History of the Coconut Palm in America, Contributions from the United 
States National Herbarium, vol. 14, pt. 2, 1910. 

* The successful cultivation of a so-called " Cambodia " cotton in British 
India has been noticed in a recent Consular Report, issued while this bulletin 
was in preparation. The facts are of special interest in view of the many 
unsuccessful experiments that have been made in India with Upland varieties 
from the United States. The statement is as follows : 

" In Tinnevelly district, Madras Presidency, at the extreme southern end of 
the peninsula, there had been planted up to October about 17,000 acres in what 
is known as Cambodia cotton. This is a variety of acclimatized American 
cotton, introduced into the country about four years ago, which is being quite 
successfully grown and which yields far more fiber per acre than any of the 
old varieties. 

" Last year a total of 15,000 bales of Cambodia was produced on 15,000 
acres of the black soil of Tinnevelly, and this season, in addition to the larger 
area already reported as planted in that district, the agricultural department 
is experimenting with it in several other parts of the Presidency with a view 
to its general adoption by growers. It is said to thrive on irrigated lands, 
and should it prove even partially as successful in other districts as in Tin- 
nevelly, there is little doubt that within a very few years it will be gi'own 
throughout the whole of south India, if not elsewhere in the country. 

"As the fiber of the Cambodia compai'es favorably with that of American 
Upland cottons, it is not too much to say that India may within a few years 
become a serious competitor of the United States in meeting the world's demand 
for the commodity, instead of furnishing only the inferior grades as at present." 
{Report of Nathaniel B. Steumrt, consul at Madras, India, in Daily Consular 
and Trade Reports, December 17, 1910.) 
210 



42 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

remember when the Mit Afifi or the Jannovitch varieties produced 
fields of uniform plants, all of the same height, with none of the 
irregularities now shown b}' the tall hybrid plants of the Hindi- 
infested fields. But in the absence of any actual countings in former 
years it is not possible to determine what change has taken place. 

From the standpoint of the Mendelian theory of heredity an in- 
creased representation of the Hindi characters would not be expected 
to occur unless additional contamination took place from outside 
sources, which appear to be lacking in Eg^'pt. Mathematicians have 
shown that characters expressed according to the Mendelian theory 
would not tend to increase, but would remain at the same general 
proportion in a mixed population." 

Nevertheless, an increasing dominance or stronger tendency of 
expression of the Hindi characters should not be dismissed as impos- 
sible, for it has been noticed in experiments with Egyptian-Upland 
hybrids that the Upland characters seem to attain a more and more 
predominant expression in the later generations, even when selec- 
tions are made with a view to preserve the Eg}^ptian or intermediate 
characters among the hybrids. Though no direct statistical evi- 
dence regarding the supposed increase is likely to be obtained, it 
may be possible to throw light on the question indirectly by the 
study of the tendencies of expression shown in artificial hybrids be- 
tween the Egyptian and Hindi types. Experiments of this kind 
Avere begun by the making of such hybrids in Arizona in the season 
of 1909. 

The popular impression of a gradual increase in the proportion of 
Hindi cotton is supported by the general opinion of the commercial 
world that the quality of the Egyptian cotton is declining. This 
may mean that poorer qualities are being sent out under the same 
marks or that the ginning establishments are finding it more difficult 
to keep their product up to recognized standards. Either of 
these results, or both, might naturally be caused if the Hindi cotton 
continues to multiply in the face of the selection that is now being 
applied.'' 

Considered on a percentage basis, a considerable amount of selec- 
tion has undoubtedly been directed against the Hindi cotton. In 

« Hardy, G. H. Mendelian Proportions in a Mixed Population. Science, n. s., 
vol. 28, p. 48. July 10, 1!)08. 

^ The idea of a progressive deterioration of the Egj'ptian product is confirmed 
by a recent autlioritative statement published while the present report was in 
preparation : " There is no gainsaying the unanimous evidence that the general 
character of Brown Egyptian cotton [by which Lancashire means Afifi] has 
gone down most markedly from the standard of 15 years ago. All the spinners 
of fine counts, to whom strength is everything, speak with regret of the Afifi of 
those days. Without exception they say that during recent years they have 
continually been compelled, in order to maintain their standards of strength, 
210 



DAMAGE FROM THE HINDI CONTAMINATION. 43 

the Delta region a large proportion, probably 50 per cent or more, of 
the Hindi plants that germinate in the fields are rogiied out. The 
sorting of the fiber in the ginhouses must take out a still larger per- 
centage of the Hindi cotton that is harvested. 

Some of the ginners are also said to sift out the smooth seeds, or 
even to resort to hand picking to keep the smooth Hindi seeds from 
being planted. While it is to be exjoected that the various ginning 
establishments would be found to differ greatly in the thoroughness 
with which these precautions are observed, the general effect must be 
to exclude a hirge proportion of the Hindi seed every year. Under 
any Mendelian nde or other customary idea regarding the effects 
of selection it might be expected that the expression of the Hindi 
characters would have declined long since to a negligible quantity, 
but the facts certainly do not correspond to this expectation. The 
result demonstrates instead that the system of selection now in opera- 
tion is entirely inadequate to eliminate the Hindi variations. 

As already noted in connection with the seed characters of the 
Hindi cotton, the tendency to an increased representation of this type 
is not limited to the factor of prepotency, but may prove to be due 
partly or wholly to more prompt germination of the seeds, owing to 
the absence of fuzz that alloAvs more effective contact with the soil. 
Experiments with other types of cotton have shown that varieties 
having less fuzz germinate more promptly, but comparisons will 
also be made between Egyptian and Hindi. 

ESTIMATE OF DAMAGE FROM THE HINDI CONTAMINATION. 

As the percentages of Hindi cotton in the Egyptian fields do not 
represent the full amount of Hindi contamination, so they do not 
indicate the full extent of damage to the crop. In addition to the 
true Hindi plants and the obviously Hindi-like hybrids, supposed 
to represent the first generation, more careful inspection always 
shows a considerable number of obscufe or dilute hybrids as well as 
many individual variations that may reasonably be ascribed to the 
same general fact of Hindi contamination. These aberrant plants 
include those that show the white flowers, the flowers with pale 
spots, and other peculiarities that can often be detected only by 

to raise the mark or grade of cotton tliey use, and to add increasing propor- 
tions of superior varieties, such as Nubari and Jannovitch, merely to obtain 
the same results as they formerly secured with Aflfi alone. Strength is abso- 
lutely essential in the manufacture of ' twist ' yarns for warping, and in spite 
of improved spinning processes, greater loss in waste through taking out a 
larger proportion of short staple, and more careful and costly methods gen- 
erally, the spinners have had the greatest difficulty in maintaining the quality 
of their yarns." (See Todd, John A., "The Mai-ket for Egyptian Cotton in 
1909-1910," L'Egypte Contemporaine, no. 5, January, 1911, p. 5.) 
210 



44 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

careful comparison of all the parts, including the seeds and lint. A 
complete census of the aberrant plants of a field requires too much 
time to make it generally feasible. Moreover, the cotton in Egypt 
was not yet far enough advanced in July, 1910, to allow such a study 
to be completed. The visit was made at that season because the 
vegetative characters of Hindi plants were known to be more readily 
visible at that time. 

Counts made in a field of Ashmuni cotton raised in Arizona in 
lt)01) from imported seed gave over 40 per cent of the plants showing 
distinct departures from the normal characteristics of Egyptian 
cotton, mostly in the direction of the Hindi. A similar diversity 
would probably be found in some of the Egyptian fields representing 
the same variety of cotton. With the better varieties such as Mit 
Afifi and Jannovitch the percentage of dilute hybrids and variants, 
as of true Hindi and obvious hybrids, is doubtless considerably less 
though by no means a negligible quantity. 

It would probably be well wdthin the truth to estimate that the 
results obtained by counting would at least be doubled if they were 
to include the later generations of hybrids and dilute crosses that 
increase the diversity and diminish the value of the crop. Ii the 
average of the percentages shown in the different countings of Hindi 
plants be accepted as the basis of calculation, a total estimate of 
about 12 per cent would represent the extent of the Hindi contamina- 
tion that would become visible under a more careful inspection of 
the Egyptian fields. Estimated even at 10 per cent, the annual 
damage of the Hindi cotton must run well above $10,000,000, perhaps 
even to twice that amount. It is true, of course, that any definite 
figures must be in the nature of guesswork; they can serve only in a 
general way to indicate the magnitude of the factor of diversity in the 
Egyptian cotton crop. 

While the cotton of the Hindi and other variant plants is not 
altogether worthless, there can be no doubt that the crop as a Avhole 
would be far more profitable to the farmer if all these plants were 
destroyed, even though nothing took their places. A general diminu- 
tion in yield is due to the infertility of many of the hybrids and 
other aberrant plants; a general depreciation of the value of the 
crop \s due to the residuum of inferior cotton that the sorting does 
not remove, to the expense of the sorting, and to the relative waste 
of labor in growing and picking the low-grade cotton. These ele- 
ments of loss recur with every season and represent a large tax upon 
the industry. They also represent roughly the advantage that Ameri- 
can farmers may hope to gain by paying more effective attention to 
the factor of selection as a means of maintaining the purity and 
productive efficiency of varieties. 

210 



CAUSES OF DETERIOEATION. 45 

OTHER CAUSES OF DETERIORATION OF THE EGYPTIAN CROP. 

AVliile an increase of the proportion of Hindi cotton would explain 
a reduction in the yield as well as in the quality of the crop, it is 
probable that other causes are responsible for a share in the decline. 
Indeed, some Avriters on the subject, overlooking the Hindi factor, 
have used considerable ingenuity in imagining other causes of dete- 
rioration and are calling for radical measures of reform to check, if 
possible, the downward tendencies. Statistics indicate a general 
decline in production at the rate of about 100 pounds of lint per acre 
during a period of about 1*2 years. Such a reduction is a very 
serious matter from the standpoint of the native cultivator who 
operates on a very small piece of land at a very high rental. Even 
when the tenant has to pump his oavu irrigation water his rent may 
run at the rate of $40 or $50 per acre. Under favorable conditions 
a return of $100 may be secured, Init the margin is often very nar- 
row, only $5 to $10 for a season's work. 

In spite of the decline in yield, the increase of the area of produc- 
tion by new irrigation works may maintain or even increase the 
total output of the country as a whole, though it is evident both in 
Lower and Upper Egypt that the extension of cotton into newly 
reclaimed areas is likely to be a very gradual process attended by 
considerable difficulties. Other possibilities of extensive cotton pro- 
duction are said to exist in the Egyptian Sudan, where many efforts 
for agricultural progress, including large projects in irrigation, are 
now being made. 

One of the favorite theories to account for tlie lessening yields of 
cotto;i is that the varieties have run out. This theory may be true 
in the sense already discussed, that of deterioration due to hjdiridism 
and resulting diversity, but it is probably not true in the sense that 
is commonly supposed, that the varieties have weakened and declined 
in vigor and fertility. With plants long propagated from cuttings, 
such as strawberries and potatoes, it is believed that old varieties 
become weaker and less resistant to disease after a period of a few 
decades, but with open-fertilized, seed-propagated plants like the 
cotton, the idea of varieties running out is not considered as having 
received any adequate demonstration. Some of the native cultiva- 
tors declare that all the plants used to grow as large on their land as 
the tall hybrids do now and that they were fertile in proportion tq 
their size, but such a difference might be due to a decline in the 
fertility of the soil as well as to a deterioration of the variety. 

The tradition of perpetual fertility of the Egyptian soil, an- 
nually renewed by the sediment deposited by the flood of the Nile, 
does not apply to the cotton lands, for this crop is raised on an en- 
tirely different system having no relation to the agriculture of 

210 



46 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt depended on winter and spring crops 
that could be grown during the intervals between the summer inun- 
dations, but cotton requires the whole warm season, spring, summer, 
and autumn. It has to be irrigated in. the spring before the floods 
come and is harvested during the flood period. Cotton can be grown, 
therefore, only on land that is protected from the floods and pro- 
vided with canals for perennial irrigation. The only Nile mud that 
comes to these lands is a- very little in the turbid water of the later 
irrigations that are given to the cotton after the river rises. There 
is no deposit of mud from large volumes of water turned into basins 
and alloAved to settle as under the old system of irrigation at flood 
time. Hence there is every reason to expect a gradual decline in the 
fertility of the cotton lands, a decline likely to be noticed first in the 
.lighter and poorer soils but. also likely to affect the others in time. 
Whether this decline has already become a serious factor in reducing 
yield might require a very careful investigation to determine, but 
it is very likely to be- a contributing factor. 

The use of fertilizers is already recognized as a serious question 
in relation to the cotton industry. As in the United States, natural 
and artificial manures are used with pronounced benefit on the poorer 
and lighter lands while the. heavier soils show little or no response. 
The domestic supply of fertilizing material is greatly reduced b}'^ 
the natives in their universal use of the dung of domestic animals 
as fuel. Some writers have seen an evidence of agricultural efficiency 
in the making of such material up into cakes and hoarding it around 
the native houses, but the object is to cook the family meals, not 
to fertilize the land.'' 

A theory receiving much attention at present is that the decline of 
the cotton crop is due to a rise of the water table or level of the 
subsoil water in the soil, resulting from infiltration from canals and 
the use of larger quantities of water for irrigation j)urposes. While 
it is evidently true in Eg}'pt, as in the United States, that too much 
water is bad for cotton, it hardly seems probable that the change of 
the Avater table has been sufficiently serious and general to be re- 
sponsible for any very large part of the decline of the crop. The 
recent improvements of irrigation facilities are making it easy for 
the cultivators to injure their crops by using too much water, a 
tendency that seems to be very general in irrigated regions. Indica- 
tions of such injury could often be seen in the fields. In some cases 
continued excess of water had evidently interfered w4th growth, so 
that the cotton of the water-logged fields remained very small. In 
other cases excess of water appeared to be responsible for too vigorous 

" Foaden, G. P. Notes on Egyptian Agriculture. Bulletin 62, Bureau of 
Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, pp. 26-33. 
210 



CAUSES OF DETERIORATION. . 47 

growth and late fruiting, with the probable result of a smaller crop. 
American cotton planters are familiar with the fact that too much 
rain often cuts clown the crop by inducing additional growth near the 
beginning of the fruiting period. A whole crop of buds or young 
bolls may be shed that would have grown to maturity if the weather 
had continued dry. 

Cotton growing on lands along permanent watercourses in the 
Zagazig district, where the water table must have been kept within a 
few feet of the surface, did not show any serious impairment except 
for a few rows along ditches or ponds that supplied water practi- 
cally on the surface. The small size and pale color of one or two rows 
along the dikes often indicated serious injury by the close proximity 
to water, but usually there was a rapid improvement farther back. 
A recent publication gives the results of many investigations of 
w^ater level in wells and concludes that the modern system of irriga- 
tion has had no serious general effect in raising the level of the sub- 
soil water. On the other hand, it is pointed out that a secondary 
artificial water table may be formed when suj^erfiuous irrigation water 
collects over an impervious subsoil layer." 

Disease also may play a part in the decline of production. As 
pointed out by Mr. Fletcher, in the vicinity of Gizeh some of the 
fields of cotton shoAv irregular patches of very inferior plants, with 

<* Ferrar, H. T. On tlie Creation of au Artificial Water Table iu Egypt, Cairo 
Scientific Journal, vol. 4, p. 153, July, 1910. 

The conclusions of this paper are stated as follows : 

" It is reasonable to suppose that a small quantity of water has been retained 
by the alluvium each succeeding year, for it is not likely that a great augmenta- 
tion of subsoil water would take place in a year or two, and in the absence of 
substantiated evidence we must assume that by degrees water has been accumu- 
lating in the soil since the introduction of perennial irrigation. Observations 
made in the provinces of Menufia and Gharbia have shown that at the present 
time (May 1) a layer of saturation may be found which is seldom more than 
two meters below the soil surface. The upper surface of this artificially 
saturated layer has been called the artificial water table. 

" Some misapprehension exists with regard to the water which is found in 
the Nile alluvium and it will be of interest, therefore, to state tentatively two 
main conclusions drawn from observations made at more than 150 experi- 
mental tube wells which have been under observation during the past year. 
The observations made at these wells in Lower Egypt all support the view 
that there are two water tables : 

"1. A natural water tabic tchich is independent of the loorlcs of man, except 
locally where extra permeability allows a constant supply of irrigation water 
to he added. 

"2. An artificial icater table ichieh tvas created by the act of the introduction 
of perennial irrigation by Mohammed Aly Pasha. It is thought that this arti- 
ficial water table has gradually become higher, owing mainly to excessive 
watering of crops, until at the present day it has a deleterious effect upon the 
fertility of the soil." 

77267°— Bui. 210—11 i 



48 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

some dead and dying. On examination of the roots Mr. Fletcher 
found the fibro-vascular bundles stuffed with fungous mycelium as 
in the wilt disease of cotton in the United States. Samples of roots 
of cotton plants affected in the same way were also sent by Mr. 
Fletcher some years ago to Mr. W. A. Orton, of the Bureau of Plant 
Industry, but no definite identification of the disease could be made. 
It has been supposed that the Egyptian cotton is resistant to the 
wilt disease, but that this resistance is not absolute seemed to be 
shown very clearly in one of Mr. Fletcher's experiments already 
noted. In a type of cotton practicall}^ resistant to such a disease a 
large amount of unrecognized damage might be done. Mr. Orton 
states that in the United States the Avilt disease is responsible for 
much damage outside of the most seriously infested areas where the 
plants are killed. 

PROSPECTS OF EGYPTIAN COTTON IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Though it is to be expected that the Hindi contamination and 
other causes of decline of the cotton crop in Figypt will eventually 
be recognized and removed, there is no reason to expect any sudden 
or complete change in the present conditions. ' The yield and quality 
may be expected to fluctuate somewhat with the seasons, but such 
differences are likely to be less serious in Egypt than in almost any 
other country. 

The Hindi cotton might be eliminated eventually if a better sys- 
tem of selection were applied or new and uniform strains could be 
developed and substituted for the present diverse stocks. More ex- 
tensive fertilizing might counteract the diminishing fertility of the 
soil. Drainage works are being extended and improved methods 
of controlling insect pests are being applied. More hardy varieties 
may also be developed, analogous to the wilt-resistant varieties of 
Upland cotton bred by Mr. Orton in the United States. 

But all of these measures are likely to require considerable periods 
of time, quite as long, indeed, as would be needed for the elimination 
of the Hindi, and this will give our newly established cotton-grow- 
ing communities of the Southwest a fair opportunity to market their 
first crops, if they decide to undertake the production of Egyptian 
cotton on a commercial scale, instead of the short-staple Upland 
cotton they are now planting. One of the difficulties in establishing 
such an industry is that it needs to begin on a sufficiently large scale 
to provide the necessary ginning and baling facilities. Manufac- 
turers are not willing to buy small quantities of cotton from a new 
region. 

I No assurance can be given, of course, that the present high prices 
of Egyptian cotton will be maintained for even a few years. The 
farmer will have to judge for himself whether the normal relations 
210 



PROSPECTS OF EGYPTIAN COTTON IN THE UNITED STATES. 49 

of supply and demand are likely to continue and to have their nor- 
mal influence on the prices. The present status of the Egyptian in- 
dustry is only one factor of the problem, but the prospects in this 
quarter seem to favor the proposed establishment of an Egyptian 
cotton industry in the Southwest. 

It need not be supposed that the culture of Egyptian cotton in 
the United States will involve an injurious competition with the 
Egyptian industry. The irrigated districts of Arizona and southern 
California where the experiments with the Egyptian cotton have 
been carried on are not very extensive, nor thickly populated. Settle- 
ment is going on in a very gradual way, as irrigation facilities are 
provided. Moreover, the opening of an additional source of supply 
of Eg^^'ptian cotton would be likely to improve the commercial pros- 
pects of this type of fiber. The danger is already recognized in 
Egypt that if prices remain too high markets may be lost by the 
further substitution of inferior kinds of cotton in fabrics for which 
Egyptian has been used. 

Recently published results of an investigation of this question 
show that an extensive substitution of other types of cotton for the 
Egyptian has already taken place and that there has been a serious 
decline in some lines of Egyptian cotton goods as a result of improve- 
ments in the weaving machinery and finishing processes that make it 
possible to use cheaper materials not previously employed for such 
purposes. The plan of substitution seems to have succeeded beyond 
all expectations, as the following statements will show : 

It is in tliese lower grade goods that the substitution of American for 
Egyptian yarns has shown the most marlied development. The substitution 
has tal^en place in various ways, but all due to the one cause — the great 
difference in price between American and Egyptian yarns. The high price of 
Egyptian cotton has compelled the spinners to devote their attention to pro- 
ducing a finer spun yarn from American staple than was formerly thought 
possible. Until a few years ago 40's were regarded as practically the limit 
of American spinning. Now by improved processes and the adoption of finer 
methods of spinning (e. g., combing, which was formerly confined to Egyptian 
yarns) 60's, 70's, and 80's of satisfactory quality can be spun from American. 
Though perhaps not equal in strength to the Egyptian yarns of the same 
count, these yarns have proved an excellent substitute in many branches of the 
trade. * * * 

The secondary difficulty of overcoming the dealers' prejudices against Ameri- 
can cotton was of short duration. Most of the goods in question were well- 
established stock lines \vhich the dealers had sold for some years at fixed prices, 
and to raise these prices was impossible. But the rise in price of the 
Egyptian yarns was too great to be covered by any possible sacrifice of profits 
on the part of the manufacturers or the dealers, and there was no alternative 
but to abandon the Egyptian yarns. Had such a suggestion been made a few 
years ago, it would have been ridiculed; but the shopkeepers, more than half 
persuade<i by the obvious excellence of the goods, were compelletl to try them, 
and their success was immediate and astonishing. Customers showed no 
210 



50 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

hesitation in choosing between the old goods at enhanced prices and the new 
cheaper goods, and the. success of the latter in use rapidly disposed of any 
fears of their practicability. The customers either did not know the difference 
or were quite pleased with the substitute. * * * The result is that the 
trade in those fabrics, where the substitution of cheaper cotton was impossible, 
has dwindled to very small proportions. The consumers declined to pay the 
high prices, preferring goods of cheaper quality at something like the old 
prices. And the manufacturers have not been slow to meet the requirements 
of the market. Much of the cotton trade is season's goods, and even the 
established stock lines may suffer a serious loss of demand in one season 
through the appearance* of new goods in competition. The manufacturers have 
therefore placed before their customers alongside of the old goods at increased 
prices entirely new and cheaper goods of different materials and new designs 
which have proved eminently successful. Thus in the end substitution though 
impossible directly has won its way indirectly to the same result; the old 
fabrics made from the expensive Egyptian cotton have been largely replaced 
by new fabrics of cheaper materials mostly American." 

It would be a mistake to suppose that the problem of uniformity 
can be completely solved by breeding and selection, however carefully 
and efficiently done. The quality of the fiber depends on favorable 
conditions of growth that often vary in the same field. Even the 
same individual plant may produce entirely different grades of fiber 
as a result of changed conditions during the same season. Any sud- 
den forcing or checking of growth is likely to injure both the yield 
and the quality of the cotton crop. A large amount of experimenting 
may still be necessary to determine the best methods of culture and 
irrigation to secure the largest yields and the best quality of lint. 

The cultural problems are not the same as with crop plants where 
the chief object is to promote vigorous growth and a large bulk of 
plant tissues. With cotton both the yield and the quality are likely 
to be cut down if the plants are too large and luxuriant. The ten- 
dencj^ to overgrowth is a serious difficulty with the Egyptian cotton 
on some of the very rich new soils in the Southwestern States. How 
to hold this undesirable luxuriance in check is one of the chief prob- 
lems. Earlier crops, larger yields, better fiber, and easier picking 
can all be obtained if the excessive growth of the plants can be re- 
stricted. Nor can the new cotton -growing districts be expected to 
prosper on the basis of a single crop, however profitable it may ap- 
pear to be at first. To grow cotton continuously on the same soil in 
an irrigated region is likely to invite disease. Rotations of crops and 
other forms of diversified agriculture will be needed to insure per- 
manent prosperity. 

" See Todd, John A., " The Market for Egyptian 'Cotton in 1909-1910," 
L'Egypte Contemporaine, no. 5, January, 1911, pp. 3, 4, and 6. 
210 



CONCLUSIONS. 51 



CONCLUSIONS. 



The standards of uniformity are higher with the Egyptian cotton 
than with American short staples, because the Egyptian cotton is used 
for superior fabrics and for otlier industrial purposes where strength 
is required. The prospects of establishing a successful Egyptian 
cotton industry in America depend on the possibility of producing a 
uniform crop and avoiding the need of a subsequent sorting of the 
fiber. 

In the Egyptian industry the requirement of uniformity is met, in 
part, by a system of careful grading and sorting, made possible by 
cheap labor not available in the United States. Inspection of the 
fields in Egypt during the early part of the growing season shows a 
large and very general contamination with the inferior type of cot- 
ton known as Hindi that produces only a short, sparse, white lint, 
quite unlike that of the true Eg^q^tian cotton. 

The claim that the Hindi cotton is all removed from the field at the 
time of thinning the plants is not warranted by the facts, for the 
Hindi type and obvious hybrid forms are to be found in nearly all 
the fields, often in considerable proportions,, sometimes more than 10 
per cent of the total number of plants. Eemoval of the Hindi plants 
is practiced only at the period of thinning and very seldom results in 
any complete elimination of the Hindi cotton from the fields. 

The injury caused by the Hindi contaminations is not limited to 
the proportion of Hindi plants and obvious hybrids that were counted 
in the fields. Many plants not readily distinguished as Hindi hybrids 
at earlier sta-ges of growth, give later indications of hybrid nature 
in white flowers, pale-green bolls, or sparse, inferior lint, or in relative 
or comjilete sterility. The Egyptian system of roguing the plants 
only at the time of thinning would not effect a complete elimination 
of the Hindi cotton, even if it were generally apiDlied. 

An increase of the Hindi contamination is popularly supposed to 
have taken place in Egypt, in .spite of the selection that has been 
directed against it. Such an increase would be able to cause a serious 
decline in the yield as well as in the quality of the Egyptian crop, 
quite independent of other possible causes of deterioration that are 
supposed to explain the lessened production of the Egyptian fields, 
such as diminished fertility of the soil, rise of the water level in the 
soil, plant diseases, and insect pests. 

The supposed increase in the proportion of Hindi cotton may prove 
to be due to the naked seeds that permit a more rapid absorption of 
water and a more prompt germination than fuzzy seeds. Prompt 
germination would allow the Hindi seedling plants to make more 
rapid growth in the earlier stages and thus gain an advantage over 
Egyptian seedlings in the same hill. It is also possible that the 

210 



52 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

Hindi characters are prepotent over the Egyptian, like the Upland 
characters in the later generations of Egyptian-Upland hybrids. 

Breeding experiments have shown that it is possible to secure a 
much higher degree of uniformity in Arizona than now exists in 
most of the cotton fields in Egypt. Attention to the external charac- 
ters enables the Hindi cotton and other undesirable variations to be 
removed from the fields before the flowers open and hence before 
cross-fertilization becomes possible. If reasonable care be used in 
maintaining the uniformity of these types, it does not appear that 
the American-grown Egyptian cotton is likely to suffer any com- 
mercial disadvantage on the ground of lack of uniformity in com- 
parison witli the Egyptian crop, even though we do not go to the 
expense of establishing large ginning establishments where the cotton 
is laboriously sorted by hand. 

The greater popularity of the brown-linted varieties of Egyptian 
cotton may be explained by the advantage that the color gives in 
sorting out the inferior white Hindi fiber. The exclusion of the 
Hindi cotton by a more efficient system of selection will enable white 
varieties to be grow^n in Arizona and thus produce longer and stronger 
fiber than brown varieties are likely to afford. A study of many 
variations and hybrids of the Egyptian cotton shows a distinct 
tendency for the brown color to be associated with short fibers. 

It is possible that the reversions to the Hindi characters may con- 
tinue to appear in small numbers, even in carefully selected stocks, 
as in analogous naked-seeded variations occasionally found in uni- 
form carefully selected varieties of Upland cotton. Nevertheless, 
experiments indicate that such reversions to the Hindi characters are 
not likely to interfere with the development and preservation of uni- 
form strains of Egyptian cotton in the United States if the proper 
methods of selection are applied. 

210 



PLATES 



210 



53 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate I. Fig. 1. — Cotton field at Benlia, Egypt, sliowing size and habits of 
growth of Egyptian cotton plants at the middle of June. Fig. 2. — Closer 
view of an Egyptian cotton plant with a Hindi plant on either side. 

Plate II. Fig. 1. — View from the outside of the cotton field shown in Plate I. 
Fig. 2. — General view of a larger field, showing differences in the conditions 
of the plants at the middle of July. 

Plate III. Bracts and calyxes of Hindi cotton : A, From a plant grown at 
Gizeh, Egypt, by Mr. F. Fletcher from seed obtained in ]SIesopotamia ; 
B, C, from two flowers of Hindi cotton from Fayum, Egypt. (Natural 
size. ) 

Plate IV, Bracts and calyxes of cotton from Calioub, Egypt : A, Egyptian ; B, 
Hindi hybrid. Note the longer laciniae on the Hindi hybrid bracts ; also, that 
the calyx teeth are intermediate between the Egyptian (PI. IV, A) and 
the Hindi (PL III, A, B, C). The teeth on one side of the Hindi hybrid 
calyx are rolled back in the photograph. (Natural size.) 

Plate V. Bracts and calyxes of cotton grown at Gizeh, Egypt : A, B, Of two 
flowers of Hindi-like Upland cotton from Cochin China, grown by Mr. F. 
Fletcher ; C, of a relative of the Egyptian cotton from the Niam-Niam 
country of central Africa, grown by Mr. W. Lawrence Balls. 

Plate VI. Bolls of Egyptian and of Hindi cotton grown at Somerton, Ariz., 
in the season of 1909, showing differences in the shape and the markings 
of the surfaces : A, Egyptian ; B, Hindi. The tooth calyx of the Hindi 
cotton can be contrasted with the truncate saucer-like calyx of the 
Egyptian. (Natural size.) 
210 
54 



Bui. 210, Buteau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate I. 




Fig. 1 .— a Field of Egyptian Cotton Intermixed with Hindi. 



i m^ ^m mm^ljm S L . 



i&^^J 









^f : 



Fig. 2.— An Egyptian Cotton Plant between Two Hindi Plants. 



Bui. 210, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate II. 




Fig. 1.— Small Cotton Field at Benha, Egypt. 




Fig. 2.— Large Cotton Field at Benha, Egypt, with Natives Irrigating. 



Bui. 210, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate 111. 




Bracts and Calyxes of Hindi Cotton: A, from Mesopotamia; Band C, from 

Fayum, Egypt. 
(Natural size.) 



Bui. 2 1 0, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate IV. 




Bracts and Calyxes of Cotton: A, Egyptian; B, Hindi Hybrid. 

I Natural size.) 



Bui. 210, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate V. 




Bracts and Calyxes of Cotton: A and B, Hindi-like Upland from Cochin China; 
C, A Relative of the Egyptian from Central Africa. 

(Natural size.) 



Bui. 2 ; 0, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 



Plate VI. 




Bolls of Cotton: A, Egyptian; B, Hindi. 
(Natural nize.) 



INDEX, 



Abbasi, variety of Egyptian cotton, culture 11, 12 

Arabia, source of brown cotton seed 37 

Arizona,behavior of Ashmuni cotton 21, 22, 44 

Egyptian cotton 8,12,14,15,18,29,52,54 

Hindi cotton 17, 36, 54 

hybrids 26, 36, 42 

Ashmuni, variety of Egyptian cotton, behavior in Arizona 21, 22, 44 

counts of plants 22-23 

history 11,33 

Assiut. See Siut. 

Balls, W. L., experiment with hybrid cottons in Egypt 28 

growing of cotton from Niam Niam country 38, 54 

on cross fertilization H 

Bamieh, Egyptian okra, points of resemblance to Hindi cotton 24 

variety of Egyptian cotton 11 

Barrage, countings of Hindi cotton plants 22, 23 

Bees. See Insects. 

Bel£di, variety of Egyptian cotton 21, 23 

Benha, appearance of Egyptian cotton field 54 

countings of Hindi cotton plants 22, 23 

Beni-Suef , countings of Hindi cotton plants 23 

observations of growth of cotton , 9, 20-23 

Beteha, Palestine, countings of Hindi cotton plants 23, 24 

Bollwonn, field inspection against outbreaks in Egypt 21 

Bombage, name applied to cotton grown in Italy 37 

Bombax, Greek name of cotton 37 

Bracts, characters in Hindi cotton hybrids 27, 38, 54 

Branches, habit of growth of Hindi cotton •. 14-15 

Cairo, observations of growth of cotton plants 9 

Calioub, countings of Hindi cotton plants 20, 23 

observations of growth of cotton plants 19-20, 22, 23, 34, 54 

Callus, color as index of contamination of cotton 21-22 

Calyx, floral characters of Hindi cotton 16-17, 27, 38, 40, 54 

Cambodia, variety of cotton cultivated in India 41 

Caravonica, variety of cotton, seed characters 37 

Carpels, fruit characters of Hindi cotton 17-18 

Central America, relationships of Hindi and Egyptian cottons 32, 36, 39-41 

Cochin China, source of one parent of cotton hybrid 31-32, 54 

type of cotton 32, 39-41, 54 

Cocklebur, similarity in appearance to cotton 18 

Coherence, characters of cotton hybrids 28-33 

relation to roguing of cotton plants 32-33 

sorting of fiber of cotton 32 

Color, change of foliage of cotton at fruiting stage 15, 19, 24 

inspection of callus as index of contamination 21-22 

relation to quality of fiber of cotton 11, 32, 51-52 

Competition, relation to cotton industry 49 

Conclusions of bulletin 51 

210 55 



56 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

Page. 

Contamination, extent of damage from Hindi cotton 7, 24-25, 43-44, 51 

Correlation, characters of cotton, distinguished from coherence 30 

lint characters of cotton 37 

Cotton, Egyptian, colors of foliage 15, 24 

deterioration in product 42-43 

habits of growth at Benha, Egypt 54 

leaf characters as distinguished from Hindi 15-16 

prospects in the United States 48-50 

relation of quality of fiber to vigor 50 

relationships to Hindi cotton ■. . . 36^1 

seed characters contrasted with Hindi 12 

substitution of grades of yarn 49-50 

succession of varieties 33 

See also names of varieties. 

Hindi, application of name to type 7 

characters of bolls 17-18 

degree of prevalence in Egypt 18-26 

distinctive characters of plants 14-18, 54 

fruit characters 17-18, 27-28 

hybrids, characters 16, 26-36 

lint and seed characters 11.13 

possible source in Mesopotamia 37 

relationships to Egyptian cotton 36^1 

Upland cotton 36 

storm-proof qualities lacking 13 

supposed increase, discussion 41-43 

See also Bracts, Branches, Calyx, Carpels, Coherence, Color, Con- 
tamination, Countings, Flowers, Foliage, Fuzz, Germina- 
tion, Habits of growth, Hybrids, Roguing. 

Sea Island, culture 9, 10, 11-12 

susceptibility to disease of hybrids 35 

system of culture in Egypt 46, 54 

Upland, compared with Hindi 36 

course of distribution, discussion 37, 40 

substitution for Egyptian 49-50 

See also names of varieties. 

Countings of Hindi cotton plants 19-23, 44 

Damage from contamination. See Contamination. 
Deccan hemp. See Hibiscus cannabinus. 

Degeneration, running out of varieties of cotton 11, 33, 45 

Delta, Nile, regional superiority of Egyptian cotton crop 9, 20 

Deterioration, cotton, causes of decline in yield and quality 11,42-43,45-48 

Disease, susceptibility of certain cotton hybrids 35 

Diversity, relation to hybridization, principal elements 27 

Egyptian cotton. See Cotton, Egyptian. 

Fayum, countings of Hindi cotton plants 23 

observations as to roguing of cotton 21-22 

Ferrar, H. T., on artificial water table 47 

Fertility, Egyptian soils, relation to cotton culture 45-46 

Fletcher, F. , experiments with Hindi and Egyptian cottons . 30-32, 35, 37, 41, 47-48, 54 

on ancestry of Upland cotton 40 

Flowers, floral characters of Hindi cotton 16-17, 27 

Foaden, G. P., on seed selection and distribution 10 

use of fertilizers in Egypt 46 

210 



INDEX. 57 

Page. 

Foliage, characters indicating contamination of cotton 15-16, 21, 24, 26 

cotton, change of color at fruiting time 24 

Fungus, mycelium in diseased roots of cotton hybrids 35, 48 

Fuzz, relation to germination and other factors of cotton culture 12-13, 36, 43 

Gallini , variety of Egyptian cotton 11 

Germination, relation to fuzz on cotton seeds 13, 43, 51 

Gizeh, observations on cotton culture 30, 38, 39, 47, 54 

Habits of growth of Hindi cotton 14-15, 54 

Haga, name of Hindi cotton at Mansurah 22 

Hardy, G. H. , on mendelian proportions 42 

Hawaii, source of strain of smooth-seeded cotton 37 

Hibiscus cannabinus, similarity in appearance to cotton 18 

esculentus, similarity in appearance to cotton 18 

Hindi cotton. See Cotton, Hindi. 

Hybrids, distinctive characters 19, 24, 26-36 

Egyptian-Upland cotton, coherence of characters 30-31 

Hindi cotton, coherence of characters 28-33 

Insects, relation to deterioration of cotton ." 8, 11 

Inspection methods. See Methods. 

Intensification of characters in cotton hybrids 33-35 

Introduction to bulletin 7 

Irrigation, relation to cotton culture 18-19, 45-46, 47 

Italy, character of cotton grown 37 

Jackson's Limbless, variety of cotton, parent of hybrid 30 

Jannovitch, variety of Egyptian cotton 11, 12, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29, 42, 43, 44 

Jumel, variety of Egyptian cotton 11, 33 

Kefir Zeyat, source of superior cotton seed 10 

Locks See Carpels. 

Los Angeles, climatic modification of cotton 15 

Losses from contamination. See Contamination. 

McLachlan, Argyle, experiment with cotton hybrids 13, 28 

Madras, India, successful culture of Cambodia cotton 41 

Mansurah, countings of Hindi cotton plants 23 

observations of growth of cotton 9, 10, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29 

Maturity, climatic factors affecting cotton crop 9 

Meade, R. M. , experiment with cotton hybrids 28 

Mendelism, limitation, with respect to coherence of characters of cotton. 32,33,42 

Mesopotamia, possible source of Hindi cotton 37, 54 

Methods of field inspection of cotton in Egypt 19-20, 21, 26 

Mexico, relationship of Hindi and Egyptian cottons 36 

Mit Afifi, variety of Egyptian cotton 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 33, 42, 44 

Nectaries, intensification of cotton characters 34, 38 

Niam-Niam, variety of cotton 38, 39, 40, 54 

Nubari, variety of Egyptian cotton 11, 12, 43 

Okra, resemblance to Hindi cotton 24 

Orton, W. A., on cotton disease 48 

Fachon, variety of Upland cotton 32, 40 

Palestine, countings of Hindi cotton at Beteha 23 

Rabinal, variety of Upland cotton 32, 40 

Reversions, small bolls, evidence of cotton contamination 28-29 

Rice, field inspection, relation to cotton culture in Egypt 25 

Roguing, facilitated by coherence of characters of cotton 32-33 

methods applied to cotton in Egypt 9, 14, 18-21, 26, 27, 28, 32-33, 43, 51 

Running out of varieties of cotton. See Degeneration. 

210 



58 HINDI COTTON IN EGYPT. 

Page. 
Sea Island cotton. See Cotton, Sea Island. 

Seed, cotton, methods of selection 9, 10, 13, 20, 43 

Siam, possible source of Upland type of cotton 40 

Siut, countings of Hindi cotton plants 20, 21, 23 

observations of growth of cotton 14, 20, 21 

Stewart, N. B., on Cambodia cotton 41 

Substitution of American cotton for Egyptian 49-50 

Sultani, variety of Egyptian cotton 11 

Tanta, countings of Hindi cotton plants 20-23 

observations of growth of cotton 9, 20, 21 

Todd, J. A., on deterioration of Egyptian crop 42-43 

substitution of Upland cotton for Egyptian 49-50 

Uniformity, method of maintaining 7, 8, 9, 1 1, 12, 33, 42, 50-52 

Upland cotton. See Cotton, Upland. 

Varieties of cotton. See names of separate varieties. 

Voltos, variety of Egyptian cotton, parent of hybrid 30 

Water, level of natural and artificial tables, in Egypt 47 

Webber, H. J., on methods of seed selection 10 

Wilcox, E. v., deposit of samples of Caravonica cotton 37 

Xanthium, similarity in appearance to cotton 18 

Yield, decline of the Egyptian cotton crop 45-46 

Zafiri, variety of Egyptian cotton 11 

Zagazig, observations on growth of cotton 47 

210 

o 



